Desert Flower
by Princess of Thieves
Summary: Is your love a lie, too' 'Gaara, stop! It hurts' 'I won't be alone anymore! You will love only me and fight only for me' Sakura thinks she's made a best friends, when she's just sealed her self as his slave. [Gaasaku] [SasuSaku]
1. Chapter 1

Mary: O-M-G!!! SETSUCON!!!! Omg, 'twas amazing! I dressed up as Gaara, and I finally felt like I belonged somewhere…and now it's over. TT-TT It's so sad…but I was so happy, I decided to type this up, just for you! And by you…I don't know…JUST BE GLAD I'M POSTING SOMETHING!

Warnings: Gaara is…crazy. As in, 'I'm gonna kill you and you belong to me' Shukaku crazy. SORRY

Disclaimer: the Princess of Thieves does not own Naruto. However, she does own a Kakashi make-up mirror, an Itachi address book, a picture of Gaara in a panda outfit, a Gaara clock, and Itachi's headband via Setsucon.

Dedications(because I want to): Since my friends all hate Sakura and wouldn't appreciate this, this is dedicated to "Temari", "Kankuro", and "Lee" from Setsucon…even though Temari likes Sandcest and GaaLee and stuff…;; still dedicated to you guys, kuz …you rock. Nuff said. MOVING ON…

* * *

"Leave me alone!" 

A hand swatted at an outstretched arm, catching the blonde girl off balance. She stepped back in surprise as the little rosette girl on the ground pushed her away. The girl stood, wiping her tear-stained cheeks and crying green eyes.

"What's your problem, forehead girl?" the blonde spat, sky blue eyes burning.

"Stop it!" the rosette girl screamed. "Why do you always pick on me? Why can't you leave me alone?"

"I didn't do anything!" the blonde snapped.

"You were teasing me!" the rosette cried, bursting into tears. "What did I do wrong?" She wiped away the freshly-formed tears. "Why can't they leave me alone?"

Haruno Sakura was fed up. Her six-year-old body could only take so much abuse. She'd sat crying for her whole life as girls picked on her forehead. She wasn't going to take it any longer.

"Hey, what are you talking about?!" the blonde cried. "I wasn't-"

_Slap_

Sakura's palm connected with the girl's cheek. The blonde's head whipped to the side, a pink, palm-shaped mark staining her cheek. She retracted her hand, eyes widened in the horror of her actions, and stepped back. She _never_ lashed "I-I…" she stuttered. She took another step back before she turned around and ran. She ran through the park as quickly as she could. She passed through streets and playgrounds without stopping. When she reached her home, she burst into sobs and came through the door, clutching her surprised mother's leg. The rosette woman jumped in surprise, but picked up her crying child.

"Hush, sweetie," she whispered, rocking the six-year-old gently. "Did they make fun of your forehead?"

Sakura nodded, burying her face into her mother's shoulder. They stayed in that position until her tears subsided and she'd cried herself to sleep. The girl's mother brought her upstairs and placed her on the bed.

"Hiro," she called her husband. She heard a grunt of reply. "Remember that mission to Suna…?"

* * *

"M-mom? D-dad?"

Sakura jumped up. This place was unfamiliar to her. Where was she? She continued to call her parents, unaware that they were truly miles away. "Mom! Dad!" The rosette girl jumped in from her bed and ran to the door, throwing it open. She jumped in surprise when a tall, blonde man was in front of her door. He looked surprised as well.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, the hand reaching for the knob moving to his side. "I heard you screaming and-"

"Who-who are you?" she asked quietly.

His eyes widened with surprise. "I'm Yashamaru," he answered. "You're staying with me while your parents are on a mission, remember?" Sakura shook her head. "I guess they didn't tell you…"

"Where am I?" she asked. "Are we still in Konoha?"

Yashamaru shook his head. "Suna."

"Suna!?"

He nodded. Sakura's mood suddenly became dreary, so he put a hand on her shoulder. "You know, there are some kids outside playing soccer. Why don't you go play with them?"

Sakura looked up and nodded. "Okay," she replied sadly, and Yashamaru couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He led her toward the door and opened it for her. As he said, there were seven or eight kids kicking a ball outside of the house. They all froze and looked up as the door opened, as if afraid of something. After a moment, they breathed a sigh a relief and continued their game. Yashamaru pushed her forward softly, coaxing her. She hopped down the steps and cautiously approached the group.

"E-excuse me?" she called, catching their attention. "M-may I…p-play w-with you?" she asked. They looked at each other and nodded.

"Okay," one said. "You're on my-"

A soccer ball zoomed by Sakura's face, causing her to jump in surprise. It bounced off behind a corner. "Sorry!" rang a voice.

"Kosuke, you idiot!"

"It's okay," Sakura told them, running after the ball. "I'll get it!"

She turned the corner to go after the ball, but the children's attention was no longer on her. Instead, they were all staring in horror at the arrival of a red-head boy. He had circles around his eyes and no eyebrows, and he looked lonely.

"Can I…" he began to say softly, but stopped at the children's expressions. They began backing away in fear.

"It's Gaara…"

"It's him! Gaara of the Desert!"

"Run!"

The children took off; running, screaming, and looking back in terror. Gaara's chest pounded and he clutched the cloth above his heart. "Why…" he whispered. "Why are you running?" Sand began to stir around him. "Don't leave me…"

"Hey! Where are you going?" someone's voice cried. Gaara turned in the direction of the voice and saw pink hair and green eyes. Sakura was holding the soccer ball in her small hands, and looked as if she were about to cry. "Why are you leaving? I got the ball back!" she cried, but the children didn't turn around. She let out a sad sigh. "Even here, no one wants to be my friends," she muttered. That's when Gaara caught her eye. Green and blue clashed, and the children stared at each other for a few moments. Sakura lowered her gaze. _'Figures,'_ she thought. _'He's just staring at my forehead…'_

Of course, Gaara wasn't. He wasn't staring at her forehead, or her pink hair, or anything about her in particular. He was just…staring. _'Why hasn't she run away yet?' _he wondered. When she sadly lowered her gaze, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. _'Well…'_

Sakura jumped as something slid across her hands; sand. It curled around the ball and gently took it from her grasp. Her green eyes followed as the sand inched away from her, dropping the ball into the arms of the redhead boy. Silence passed once again between the two until he gulped loudly.

"D-do you…" he asked nervously, "want to…play? W-with me?"

Sakura didn't reply at first, but a grin broke out on her face. "M'hm!" she nodded.

Gaara placed the ball on the ground in front of him and kicked it to the girl. Sakura trapped it with her foot, dribbling it toward the goal place a few feet behind her opponent. She kicked it in, but squealed in surprise when Gaara's sand shot up to catch it. "No fair," she pouted. "No sand allowed!"

"But-"

"No buts," Sakura insisted, trapping the ball under her foot. "I can't use sand, so neither can you!"

Gaara's face turned down in disappointment, but he stopped arguing. As Sakura kicked the ball toward the goal, Gaara managed to steal it with his foot and kick it into her goal. She pouted a bit. "Aww…"

The two played through the day. The sun began to set, and they were sitting on the ground panting. "I win," Gaara said.

Sakura stuck out her tongue. "No fair," she whined, standing up and brushing the sand from her khaki shorts. Her stomach growled and she giggled. "I missed lunch! It's dinner time."

"So did I," Gaara stated, standing up as well. He didn't look up; he was still shy.

"Do you wanna," Sakura blushed, "you know, come over? I'm sure Yashamaru-san won't-"

"Yashamaru?" Gaara repeated.

She nodded. "My parents are on a mission, so they left me with him…"

A huge grin crossed his face. "I live with him, too! Yashamaru's my uncle!"

"Really? That's awesome!"

"Yeah!"

Sakura hugged the redhead, and he nearly jumped in surprise. "This is so cool! Where's your room? We can have sleepovers and stay up late! It'll be so much fun!"

Gaara wiggled out of her grasp and gave her a sad smile. "That sounds like fun but…" a sad look covered his face, "I don't sleep."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You don't have a bedtime? No fair!"

Gaara laughed. "That's not quite it…"

"Sakura-san!" The two children turned, seeing Yashamaru walking out of his home. "Dinner is…" he trailed off, seeing Gaara and Sakura so close, and held his breath. _'Please don't let him lose control…'_

"Yashamaru-san!" Sakura cried, wrapping her arms tighter around Gaara. "Guess what? Gaara's my best friend!" She giggled, and Gaara blushed in result.

Yashamaru let out his breath. _'Thank God…'_ "Gaara, Sakura, it's dinner time," he told them. The six-year-olds ran past him in a flash.

* * *

_Later that night…_

The clock ticked to 1:35 am, and Sakura was fast asleep. Her cocoon of blankets was wrapped tightly around her as she let out slow, even breaths. Every once in a while, she would nuzzle her face into her pillow, murmuring Gaara's name.

The door creaked open, not stirring the rosette haired girl one bit. A figure slowly crept forward, casting a shadow on Sakura's face. It reached under her covers, grabbing her tiny writs and dragging her out. She jumped awake, not sure how to react, and squealed in surprise when her back hit the cold floor. She felt someone on top of her, straddling her waist and pinning her arms above her head. When her vision cleared form sleep, she found herself staring into a pair of sky blue orbs.

"Gaara…?" she whispered sleepily, but froze as fear began to attack her. Gaara's eyes weren't the shy, innocent ones from before. They were full of blood lust, and the desire to tear flesh and take lives. Nis nails painfully dug into her wrists and she cried out. "Yashamaru! Help!"

The grip tightened, and she squealed even more. "Yashamaru is dead," she heard Gaara whisper, and her eyes widened.

"W-what?"

His grip continued to tighten, and she felt like the bones in her arm would crack. "Is your love for me a lie, too?" he demanded, his nails on the brink of drawing blood.

"Gaara, stop!" she screamed, hot tears running down her cheeks. "It hurts!"

She heard sand shifting around him. The wild look in his eyes only seemed to grow with her pain. "I will not be alone anymore!" he screamed. "You, Sakura, are all that's left! You're _mine_! You will love only me, and fight only for me!"

His sand attacked her face, and she screamed in absolute pain. The grains dug into her skin, drawing blood and scarring her forehead. The spot above her left eye throbbed as it continued to be cut and dug into. When Gaara stopped the sand, Sakura broke into sobs. She clutched herself in fear and cried in pain. She felt Gaara's arms around her shoulders, and whimpered in fear and disgust when his tongue ran over her bleeding forehead. He'd left a mark; the kanji for love. One identical to his.

"Who do you love?" he softly demanded.

Her tear-filled green eyes looked up into his cold ones. "Y-you," she whispered, for that was the answer he demanded.

A smirk graced the six-year-old's face. "Good," he said.

Sakura tried desperately to stop her sobs. She was always his.

As long as that mark graced her face.

* * *

Mary: o0 umm, that came out differently than I wanted…but I still like it Yay me!

Shinja: holding up pictures from Setsucon

Mary: NOOOOOOO I LOOK SO BAD! Lmao, ok, I liked my costume, but I thought I looked bad..that's just _me_. And my lack of eyebrows. LMAO. Hail Gaara! Anyway, Read, Review, and BE. NICE.


	2. Chapter 2

Mary: (faints) (switches off the Emo button) Oh my God…I LOVE YOU!!!! (hugs all of her fans) 28 reviews, 23 favs, and 18 alerts!!! (squealing) OH MY GOSH! None of my fanfics have EVER gotten that much recognition! I LOVE YOU ALL! (cough)

(switches on Emo button) I'm not really pleased with this chapter, but I suppose it's here…

Anyway, time to reply to a couple reviews(switches off the Emo button):

**shadow's new moon: **KAILE-CHYAAAN! Hi, my only Naruto loving friend that doesn't hate Sakura's guts! Here, another chapter! Don't forget to kick Sasuke on the way out (just to double check)…oh, and POLAR BEAR!

**jxp7962: **(twitch) Jiyoung…STOP TRYING TO STEAL MY NOTEBOOK! Oh, and HAHA! I changed the chapter! THERE IS NO LONGER ANYTHING ABOUT PANCAKES!!!! Thanks for taking the time to review, though!

**Diamond Lotus:** OMG HI TEMARI! Haha, thanks! I tried to get them in character. I kinda have to make Gaara kinda evil for a little but, though…oh well, he'll be our little panda once again later! Thank for the review! (HUGS!!!!)

I'd also like to thank **Yellow Fur, **Somebody you don't know, rummtreiber123, **ramon 19923, heynamassu, ScarletNinja123, al2010, Sachichan16, **Ox King, Hi, **Rinzo, naruto'sgirl, Phantom's Bride, Nibi no NEKO, Fire Kunai, **carla, mel, **sakura182,  
X-X-N.H.Y.C.I.S.H-X-X, Confuzzled239, -akatsuki-leader-, Gaaraxxxheartxxxai, Hopeh, Kariko, **and** GothicaRose!**

**Disclaimer:** Princess of Thieves does not own Naruto. If she does, there would be more Gaara, and Sakura would be wanted by all the smexy guys and join the Akatsuki...(switches on emo button) on with the fic**  
**

* * *

"_You lied, _Sakura-chan_…"_

_Sand grasped every part of her body, rendering her unable to move. She wiggled and thrashed around, trying to break free of its grasp, but she failed to move an inch. A familiar silhouette made its way toward her, son revealing blazing red hair and sky blue orbs. His eyes weren't the way she remembered them; they were cold, icy, and were filled with hatred and blood lust, all directed at _her.

_The sand tightened its grip, and the pressure was making her body ache. She felt lips graze over the spot above her left eye, and suppressed a shiver running up her spine. "You lied," he hissed again. He stepped back, holding out an open hand, and a deranged grin spread across his face. Without warning, he clenched his hand shut._

"_Sand burial!"_

Sakura sat straight up, gasping for breath. Sweat drenched her small form as she put her arms around herself, being sure her body was still in tact. She swung her legs over the side of her warm bed, pushing herself up, and walked into her bathroom. She splashed cold water onto her face to wake herself up.

"Relax, Sakura," she whispered to her reflection in the mirror. "Breath. He's not coming back. He's six years in your past. Relax…"

But her body remained tense. How could she relax? The boy from her past had scarred her – both literally and figuratively. Her hand reached up to her forehead, running over the mark embedded onto her face. Almost immediately, she snatched her hand back.

"Stop it," she told herself, stepping away from the mirror. She slipped into her red dress and biker shorts, and tied her leaf headband loosely around her neck. She hopped down the steps and headed out the door, letting her feet guide her to her destination; the bridge. Upon arriving, she saw that Naruto and Sasuke, her teammates, had arrived.

"Good morning, Sakura-chyaaaaaaaaan!" the blonde ninja cried, giving a warm, louder than necessary greeting.

Sakura sighed, pushing Naruto out of her face. "Hello, Naruto," she greeted sarcastically. She walked up onto the bridge and jumped up to sit on the rail next to Sasuke. "Hey Sasuke."

"Hn," he replied, his arrogant mask still resting on his face. "'Morning, Sakura-chan."

Sasuke and Sakura had grown relatively close. She had been the only girl not to drool over him, so he was glad that _she_ of all people was the female on his team. They got along well, both mourning the loss of their parents, annoyed with Naruto's hyper activity, and dedicating their lives to becoming stronger. Though Sakura didn't want to ruin their bond, her feelings for him had slowly begun to surface for him to see. She tried with all her heart to keep them down, both for their friendship…

And to avoid _his_ wrath.

"Sakura."

Sakura jumped in surprise, just being yanked out of her thoughts. She gripped the railing to avoid falling over. "Ka-Kakashi-sensei!" she squealed in annoyance.

Said Jounin had his face close to hers, smiling that mysterious goofy smile of his. "Good morning!"

Sakura sighed. "You're late."

"Sorry, a black cat crossed my path, and-"

"Liar!" Naruto's voice interrupted.

Kakashi stood tall, whipping out his infamous Icha Icha Paradise. "Training today…" he murmured thoughtfully, trying to think of what to do. "Well, how about sparring? With Chuunin exams coming up in a few days, you need all the practice you can get."

"I wanna spar Sakura-chan" Naruto cried, latching onto said girl.

"Naruto, because you need more practice than them, you'll be sparring me. Sakura will spar Sasuke."

"Awwww…" Naruto whined, following his silver-haired sensei. Sakura jumped from the rail and followed Sasuke to the training grounds.

After an hour, Naruto had been beaten by Kakashi (though it took him forty-five minutes to convince him that he had won), but Sasuke and Sakura were still at it. Cuts and bruises coated their bodies – mostly Sakura's – as they pushed themselves back up over and over again. Sasuke moved forward and, faster than Sakura's worn out reaction time, kicked her square in the chest. Sakura flew back farther than he'd intended, and with a sickening _thunk_ she slammed against a tree.

Sakura gasped. Her vision blurred as her head made contact with the trunk, and a dark, fuzzy figure rushed to her side. "Sakura!" She heard Sasuke's voice echo through her mind. She moaned in pain and clutched her head. She froze as her hand made contact with something warm and wet, and slowly moved her palm in front of her face. Blood. Red, sticky, warm blood coated her palm. Her hand began to shake, the sight of the liquid making her nauseous. It wasn't that she couldn't stand the sight of blood.

She realized _Sasuke_ wasn't the one causing it to spill.

"No…" she whispered, her entire body shaking.

_Sand. She felt it grab her waist, turning her around and pushing her into familiar arms. A pair of lips brushed her forehead, above her left eye, and kissed her tattoo. "Who do you love, Sakura-chan?" Gaara's voice quietly demanded._

_For a second, her mind froze. The night everything had started dug from her memory. Knowing the answer he wanted, the six-year-old replied "You…" in the smallest voice she could muster. The arms that encased her tightened with her answer, and she tensed with fear._

"_You're lying," Gaara hissed into her ear. Sakura's breath was caught in her throat. Pain suddenly surged through the spot over her left eye. Grains of sand embedded in her skin thrashed around, and blood began to trickle down her forehead._

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura squeaked in surprise as Naruto's voice broke through her thoughts. Her head snapped up to see her teammates' faces staring at her with worry. "Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" Naruto's panicky voice cried out again.

Sakura moaned, sitting up straight. "I…think…" she murmured, clutching the left side of her forehead.

Kakashi's eye seemed to frown. Something was wrong, and it had to do with that mark. Sasuke hadn't hit her there, he knew that. Kakashi was concerned about her, and had been since they'd become Team Seven.

"_Now you, with the pink hair."_

_Sakura looked up as her new sensei addressed her. It took a moment for her to answer. "Umm, my name is Haruno Sakura," she began, playing with a particularly interesting lock of hair. "My likes include training, and…" she paused for a few seconds, "that's really it," she said almost sadly. "My hobbies include training, also. I hate sand, and…" she lowered her gaze, "monsters…" Naruto visibly tensed, which went unnoticed by Sakura. "And my dream…" Sakura's hand moved to her forehead, her fingers lightly grazing the _love_ makr over her eye. She didn't continue after that._

Pain shot through her forehead, causing Sakura to scream in pain and clutch her head. "N-no, stop!" she cried, surprising her teammates. "Ga-Gaara-sama, I'm sorry! I-I love you, I promise…"

Sasuke couldn't take it. He kneeled down, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Sakura, calm down," he coaxed as she thrashed in his grip. "It's me, Sasuke." She stopped thrashing as he ordered, and stared at him with big, terrified emerald eyes. "Who's Gaara?" he asked softly.

When the name passed his lips, he found himself being shoved away. "Don't touch me!" she screamed, curling into a ball. "He'll get mad, if I touch you…he won't like it…"

Sasuke sat back up, his hands grasping the sides of her head and forcing her to look at him. "Sakura," he softly demanded, his onyx orbs drilling sternly into her emerald eyes. "What is going on?"

Sakura's eyes clenched shut, tears streaming down her cheeks. She lifted her hand and lightly brushed the bleeding spot above her left eye. She hiccupped and choked on her breath.

"He's here…"

* * *

The sand shifted anxiously around his feet, reacting to its master's anticipation. The broken down hotel room he was locked in didn't help in locking up his desire. _It _slinked around his mind, like a predator eager to escape its cage. His warning had been sent out, and an amused chuckle left his smirking lips. 

"Soon, my _love…"_

* * *

(Switches off Emo button) THERE! All typed up and ready to go for SAD. Yes, SAD: Singles Awareness Day! Well, fortunately for you, I had a snow day today and had time to type this thing up! So, hope you enjoyed! 

Oh, and I'm debating whether or not I should put a triangle in here. If you think so, say 'I like pocky' and include your flavor of pocky AKA who should fight for Sakura. Sasuke is blueberry (is there blueberry pocky? If not, too bad), Neji is chocolate, Naruto is banana, and if it's anyone else just make up a flavor for them! (Gaara's already cherry (shut up) and Sakura's strawberry, so THEY'RE TAKEN) If no, say 'fortune cookies lie!' (because they do) Also, I need plot ideas because this was originally a one-shot, and I haven't come up with how it's going to go yet…THANK YOU! Review!


	3. Chapter 3

Me: (faints) 76 FREAKING REVIEWS!!!! 34 FAVS, 44 ALERTS, AND 76 REVIEWS!!!! I LOOOOOVE YOU ALL!

I would reply, I really would, but there's so many names and so little time, so thank you all!

Also, on another note…WHO WANTS TO DRAW FANART FOR ME? Haha, it's ok if you don't, but fanart will be appreciated, and motivate me! So if you want to draw or have fanart for this story, let me know!

Disclaimer: Princess of Thieves, regrettably, does not own Naruto…however, I've captured Kimimoto-sama's precious pet chicken and I'm blackmailing him! HUZZAH-(cough) I mean…

* * *

"_Ne, Sasuke-kun! Will you spar with me?"_

_The raven haired boy looked up from his position on the bridge. Seeing his pink-haired friend calling him, he pushed himself off the rail and followed her across the bridge. The two walked in silence until the training grounds came into view. Unable to stand the silence, Sakura broke it. "So, I've been practicing the fire jutsu you taught me," she told him, pausing in her steps, "but I can't get it as powerful as...Sasuke-kun?"_

_Sasuke had continued walking after she stopped. He stopped about thirty feet from her from her, his back facing her._

_"Sakura-chan..." Sakura's body froze. Her name came out of his mouth as a growl; a throaty, animalistic growl, and the voice didn't belong to Sasuke._

_"Sasuke-kun, what is - aah!" she squeaked. She'd stepped forward to confront him and squealed when her foot sank into the ground._

_Sand. The entire training ground was coated with sand. She shrieked as the tiny, scratching grains crawled up her legs and she attempted to kick it off, but it held fast. Her legs were soon immobile, followed by her arms as the sand traveled up her body. She thrashed as hard as she could, but she was stuck. "Sasuke-kun! Help, please!" she cried to her teammate's back. She saw the raven haired boy shake his head, almost sadly._

_"Sakura-chan..." he said again, slowly turning around. "Why do you lie to me?" As he turned around, Sakura could only stare in horror as his raven hair bled red, and his onyx eyes turned to icy blue. Her mind drew a blank as the haunting boy of her past stepped back to her and reached out his hand, caressing her cheek. Sakura flinched as his callous palm touched her soft skin. A deranged smirk curved on his face. "All mine," he hissed, running his thumb over her cheek. He moved his head close to her's, his hot breath fanning over her face. Slowly, his hand moved to the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her pink locks. "Only mine," he hissed again, slowly bringing his face down to hers. When their lips barely grazed eachother, the closest you can be to kissing without actually kissing, he stopped._

_"Wake up."_

_Sakura gasped. His voice had changed, and it sounded so distant, like an echo._

_"Wake up."_

_This time his voice was louder, and much more pleasant than before._

_"Sa-Sasuke-kun?" Sakura whispered, afraid saying her best friend's name would cause this boy's anger to spike. Instead, she felt his mouth smirk dangerously close to hers. _

_"Of course it's me. Come on, Sakura-chan, tomorrow's the Chuunin Exams; we need to train. Now get up before I drag you out of bed."  
_

"Come on, up we go."

Sakura jumped awake and squeaked as she felt a pair of arms lift her out of her bed, and she grasped the person around their neck to keep from falling. "Sasuke!"

"Hn," he replied, satisfied with her reaction. "I warned you."

Sakura moaned. She _really_ regretted giving him her house key. "Put me down, Sasuke-ku-"

_Thunk_

"I meant _gently_!" she screamed, rubbing her sore behind. He had the nerve to drop her on the floor! His arrogant smirk never left his face. Sakura only sighed; the dream had disturbed her too much for her to focus. "L-look, I'm not in the mood, okay? Just…" another sigh escaped her lips. "I'll go change. I'll be right back." She picked up the clothes she'd laid out last night and headed for the bathroom. To her surprise, she felt Sasuke's hand grab her shoulder and spin her around, grabbing her other one to keep her in place.

"Sakura-chan," he said softly, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," she insisted.

Sasuke's stern look never left his face. "Sakura-chan…" he warned.

"I'm serious, Sasuke-kun, nothing's wrong," she assured, slowly backing out of his grip. She escaped into her bathroom and shut the door, changing as quickly as possible. She brushed her hair, leaving her bangs over her forehead, and tied her headband loosely around her neck. She left the bathroom and the two set off.

The training grounds were empty as usual. Kakashi hadn't called them to train, but they'd decided to come anyway. They sparred until the sun was high, and the heat beat down upon them. They sat side by side, taking a break in the middle of the field, and sitting against eachother's backs. Sakura felt a bead of sweat run down her face, and she subconsciously wiped it away. When she took her hand back, her body froze. Red coated the side of her hand. Blood. Cautiously, she moved her hand to her forehead, over her left eye. When her fingers met something wet, her eyes widened. Her body began to shake. "No…"

Sasuke's head turned toward her. A rare look of concern spread over his face. "Sakura-chan, what happened?" he asked, moving to put a comforting arm around her. Before he could make contact, a blast of sand from nowhere came between the two, sending the extremely surprised Uchiha flying a good thirty feet back. Sakura shrieked, not hesitating to curl into a ball, as if convinced it would save her. She buried her face into her arms and the shifting of sand all around her. Suddenly, she found herself encased by darkness, and held herself closer. She was trapped, and she didn't need to look up to tell.

Sand crept under her chin, lifting her head from her protective protective position. Her tear-filled emerald orbs stared ahead into a sight she had prayed never to see again. Two icy blue eyes glowed in the darkness, staring at her with amusement. Her breath hitched in her throat as the sand was replaced with a warm, callous hand. It gently stroked her cheek before roughly grasping her haw and pulling her closer. Something warm and wet ran over her forehead, lapping up the blood and bringing the night from six years ago to the top of her mind.

A low chuckle escaped her captor's throat. "Sakura-chan…" he purred, and she felt his face nuzzle into her neck. "I missed you…" his hands rested on her hips holding her in place. "Did you miss me?"

Sakura whimpered as she felt nips at her neck. She knew better than not to answer. "Y-yes," she whispered, afraid he'd catch her lie. She would rather he dropped dead, but the wrong answer was worse than none. She winced as a tongue ran over the bite marks, soothing them.

"Do you love me?" he demanded, tightening his grip on her hips almost painfully. Sakura squeaked when a quick bolt of pain shot through her forehead, and the tongue moved to lap up the blood he'd caused to spill.

Though Sakura wanted nothing more than to get away, she knew better than to struggle. She nodded her head. "Yes," she said in the smallest voice she could. "I love yo-"

A pair of lips crashed crashed down on hers, and the taste of blood entered her mouth as his tongue slipped in as well. She held back the bile rising in her throat as he roughly kissed her. Soon (but not soon enough in Sakura's opinion) he broke away and moved to her ear. "Who is that boy?" he hissed.

Sakura, still dazed by the kiss, replied "Huh? Sasuke-kun?" She squealed as she was suddenly pushed on her back, the person's legs straddling her waist and her hands pinned above her. Anger burned in his eyes and his nails dug into her wrist. Sakura's mind froze, recalling the familiar position from years ago. Pain surged through her forehead, and it took every bit of will she had not to scream. "Sasuke-_kun_?" he spat. "_Who is he_?"

"He's my teammate," Sakura forced out, on the verge of screaming and kicking. "Sasuke-kun is my best friend."

His head moved to her ear. "You're not to talk to him. If you two are talking alone, _I'll kill him."_ He placed a firm kiss on her temple, and she heard the sand move and shift. "See you soon, _Sakura-chan…"_

She clenched her eyes shut. "H-hai…Gaara-kun…"

Light flooded against her closed eyelids, but she was too scared to open her eyes. It wasn't until she felt her upper body embraced by arms that she opened them. She was staring at familiar onyx orbs full of worry and panic. "Sakura-chan…" Sasuke whispered.

When the sand had pulled away, the sight of Sakura had nearly given him a heart attack. She'd been lying helplessly on the ground, wrists and forehead bleeding heavier than what was probably healthy. He'd rushed to her side, calling her name, but was surprised when Sakura pushed him away. She stumbled back, fear taking over her eyes. Tears poured down her cheeks.

"Sakura-chan…" he whispered, standing and stepping forward, but Sakura stepped back. She tilted her head so that her bangs covered her eyes.

"I-I…" she stuttered, turning around. "I'm sorry, Sasuke…" after that, she ran for home.

Sasuke didn't move or go after her. She'd left out the –kun in his name, and that scared him. Whatever had happened in that sand, it was causing her odd behavior, and with her scar bleeding, only one name came to mind. His fists clenched.

"Gaara…"

* * *

Me: Well, that's it! There's chapter 3! As usual, I'm not particularly pleased, but it'll do. Next time, the Chuunin exams begin! 

Also, thank you for your opinion in the pairings! I greatly appreciate it! I'm sorry to any chocolate pocky lovers out there, but there's no chocolate pocky in this story. I know, I love chocolate pocky too, but it just wouldn't work. There's mainly cherry pocky, with a little bit of fluffy blueberry pocky But of course, mostly cherry. Thank you for reviewing, and remember to review again!


	4. Chuunin Exams Begin!

Mary: I'M BAAAAAAAAACK! Who missed me? (gets a rotten tomato thrown at her face) …ok, yeah, I deserved that. Sorry! It's been a while! But hey, believe it or not, I _do_ have a life! Yes, amazing, ne? School, vacation…school…ok, so I _don't_ have a life. But I've got another chapter, don't I? Enjoy, and this time I actually have time to reply to reviews! (It'll be at the end)

And remember, fanart is always appreciated, please!

Current Stats  
Reviews: 109 (YES! Three Chapters, and over a hundred reviews! SUCCESS!)  
C2s: 1 (Sakura sakura and sakura!)  
Favs: 48  
Alerts: 67

Disclaimer: PRINCESS OF THIEVES DOES NOT OWN NARUTO. Otherwise, Kakashi wouldn't ignore Sakura and she'd be wanted by nearly every guy in the show…but, of course, there'd be yaoi.

* * *

"…And I'm gonna beat you all! Believe it!" 

Sakura could've killed herself.

Team 7's plan for the Chuunin Exams was to lay low, so they wouldn't become the immediate targets of the other genin…Well; it was Sakura and Sasuke's plan, anyway. They regrettably forgot to add one hyperactive blonde into their equation for success. Now, everyone in the room seemed to be - strike that, _was_ - glaring in their direction. It took every ounce of her kunoichi hold on her emotions not to punch him through a wall.

"Naruto…" she hissed through clenched teeth, "do you have any idea what you just did?"

"Of course!" the blonde rep lied, a goofy grin still covering his face. "I warned all these amateurs that they're gonna get their asses kicked!" He jumped on the table to get a better look at the crows. "Especially you, with the peanut on your back! You're going _down_! Believe it!"

That was it. He was going to hurt for the next year. Her fist shoved itself into his face and sent him crashing into the floor. "**KEEP IT DOWN!**" Sakura screamed.

Sasuke sighed. "You're picking up on his habits," he warned.

Sakura let out a long, calming breath, trying to relax. "I'm okay…"

"Well, I can see this is going to be exciting."

Team 7 turned to the owner of the voice; a tall, silver haired teen with large glasses. On anyone else they would look geeky, but it seemed to work for him. "You know, you're going to get yourself killed saying things like that."

Sakura sighed. "He's difficult," she told him, ignoring the shout of protest from Naruto.

Sasuke nodded. "And immature."

"And stupid."

"And troublesome."

"So annoying," they sighed together.

The teen chuckled. "Well, this is nice. I'm Kabuto. First time here?"

Sasuke nodded. "How about you?"

Kabuto laughed, rubbing the back of his head in almost embarrassment. "It's my seventh time, hehe…"

Sasuke and Kabuto continued to converse, preparing for what would come throughout the exam. Naruto had begun conversing with a girl with white eyes who was blushing furiously. Sakura's gaze drifted through the crowd, trying to determine the competition. The ninjas from grass were freaking her out a little, and they looked like they were here to kill. Some of the mist ninjas were glaring at the group of genin closest to the door…aka, them. Her eyes continued to scan the room until she heard Naruto cry out in protest to something. When she turned to either beat her teammate of the offender into a pulp, she was surprised to see a black mass, with what looked like a mummy on its back, holding Naruto by the scruff of his collar.

"You're the runt making the trouble, huh?" he said as more of a statement than a question. Naruto flailed wildly in his arms. "Well, here's a little warning of my own." He drew back his arm and clenched his fist. "This is from the Sand village."

_Sand_. Sakura froze. This person…she _knew_ him, from Yashamaru's funeral and other 'family gatherings'. She remembered the look of terror on his face when he was on the receiving end of Gaara's temper. "Kankuro-san?" she asked cautiously.

The black clad ninja visibly stiffened. He turned to her, revealing a face covered in purple paint and surprised eyes. "Sa-Sakura-sama?" he stuttered, dropping Naruto on his rear. He gave her an awkward bow, surprising all of Team 7 to some extent.

"Kankuro, what's taking so long?" a strong female voice interrupted, walking through the crowd. She had four blonde pigtails, a cut off kimono, and a black closed fan on her back. "How hard is it to punch a -"

"Temari-san?" Sakura cut in, catching the sand nin by surprise. She stared at her before imitating Kankuro.

"Sakura-sama," she addressed, her voice failing to hide the panic rising in her heart.

Before Sakura could reply, she felt someone grab her wrist, and she turned to lock gazes with Sasuke. "Sakura-_sama_?" he demanded.

Before he could tighten his grip, a small blast of sand forced his arm away. Sakura, though not as shocked as she probably should've been, was still taken by surprise. She squealed and fell back, only to land in Kankuro and Temari's arms. They carefully helped her up, and when Sasuke stepped forward to help they stepped in front of her, ready to stop the attempt at contact.

"T-Temari-san, Kankuro-san," Sakura stuttered, not sure why they were acting like that.

Temari looked over her shoulder. "Is this Sasuke?"

"W-What?"

"Is this Sasuke or not?" she demanded.

Sakura gulped. "Y-yes, but…"

Temari turned back to Sasuke, a smirk curving on her face. "Then this should be fun." Her arm reached back to grip the fan.

Before she could make her move, though, Kabuto appeared between her and the Uchiha prodigy. "Please," he insisted, "the exam has yet to begin. Cease from fighting."

Temari growled, straightening from her fighting position. Sasuke remained as cool as ever, his onyx eyes glaring at the sand nin. "Whatever," she spat, turning and walking away with Kankuro trailing behind.

Sasuke walked up to Sakura, the glare never leaving his face. "Care to explain?"

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but someone interrupted. "Please take your seats. The test is about to begin," a man in the front of the room announced.

Sakura sighed and mouthed "Tell you later." When Sasuke raised his brow questioningly, she giggled. "Pinky promise," she said, holding out her small finger. After a moment, Sasuke gave her a satisfied smirk and moved to intertwine their fingers. Once again, sand blocked the possible contact and the two jumped back in surprise. Sakura sighed in defeat and waved goodbye to her teammate.

She walked down through the seats, trying to find somewhere to sit. She didn't have to look long. Something grabbed her wrist and yanked her into a row. She was pulled onto someone's lap, her squeak of protest ignored, and felt someone's face nuzzle into her neck.

"Sakura-chan," she heard him whisper. She froze; it only took half a second to identify their voice. She felt his hands begin running up and down her body as his lips made contact with her skin.

"G-Gaara-kun," she choked out as his teeth began nipping at her. "Is this really the t-time? O-or place?"

She felt Gaara move to her ear. "You are mine, _Sakura-chan._ I'll do what I want with you; _when_ I want, and _where_ I want."

Sakura began blushing as the room stared in their direction. "Gaa-_raaa_," she whined as his mouth attacked her neck again. A familiar prickling sensation faded into her forehead, and Gaara's hands gripped her waist almost painfully…

"_Do _not_ talk back to me,_" he hissed.

"_Ahem_," the sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted their situation. "Miss, please sit in your seat," the jounin told her. "I hate to interrupt you and your boyfriend's little love fest, but the exam is about to begin."

"_What?" _Sakura cried. "He's not my-" she was cut off by the pain in her forehead, commanding her to be silent. Her gaze fell to the floor. "Sorry," she muttered, sliding into the seat next to Gaara. The jounin gave them both their test, muttering something about hormones, and told them to start.

The test lasted about an hour, but Sakura finished in half that time. She looked cautiously at the eyeball floating over her paper, glancing questioningly at Gaara. His fingers covered one of his eyes, and his other hand was scribbling answers onto his paper. She looked back and forth between the two before comprehending.

'_That jerk! He's cheating!'_

Sakura opened her mouth to hiss at him, but was cut off when Gaara's mouth slammed over hers. She tried to back away to break it, but found herself unable to move as Gaara's sand grabbed her arms and pulled her forward.

"Number 14; Sakura! Number 23; Gaara! Break it up!" The same jounin from before shouted. Gaara pulled her to him for a bruising finish before letting go. Sakura gasped for breath and put a hand to her lips, wincing when she discovered they stung a little.

The next half hour passed slowly, but finally the first part of the test was nearly over.

"I'm about to ask the tenth question," Morino Ibiki announced. "If you don't feel you're ready for this question, you may leave and take the Chuunin Exam next year. However, if you take this question and fail, _you may never take this exam again."_

Sakura gulped. _Never?_ If she failed, she could never be a chuunin? She bit her lip. Naruto would screw this up, she _knew_ it. She watched as a large mass of genin stood, failing themselves. IT was unnerving.

She squeaked as Gaara grabbed her arm, pulling her back into his lap. His arms enclosed around her small body, and he whispered into her ear. "Nervous?" he mocked.

"N-no," she lied, squirming in his grasp. "I'm f-fi-_ah!"_

Gaara had dug his teeth into her pulse, and she had to bite her lip to keep from yelping too loud. He lapped up the blood he'd drawn and whispered "He's bluffing."

"Wha-"

"Congratulations; you've all passed!"

Sakura had never been more relieved in her life. She sighed and relaxed into Gaara's arms, forgetting for a moment whose body she was relaxing into. She heard Naruto yelling at Ibiki, but she didn't care; she'd made it.

She felt a sharp tug on her head, and bit back a squeak. Gaara had grabbed a lock of pink, and yanked it again. "Your hair," he muttered. "It grew."

Sakura blushed. "Um, yeah. Sasuke-ku-" she quickly bit her tongue to force back the 'kun' she'd planned to his name. "Sasuke said I-"

"I hate it."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You…what?"

A prickling sensation in her forehead turned into a shock of pain. Sakura gritted her teeth, cursing herself for getting him mad. "On your birthday, before you left, I told you I liked your hair short. Why did you change it?"

"I…I didn't think you would-"

She stopped as Gaara's sand picked her up and turned her around, causing her to straddle his waist. He lifted her bangs and held them to the top of her head. "Are you ashamed of this?" he asked, rubbing his finger over the kanji he'd given her. He wiped the blood from her forehead and transferred the liquid into his mouth.

"N-No!" she cried, shaking her head. "Of course not!"

Gaara seemed pleased with the answer. Her pulled her closer and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. "Say it."

Sakura gulped. "I-I love you," she whispered.

"Louder," he hissed.

"I love you," she said again, her voice only a little louder than before.

"Louder," he ordered again. "So _everyone_ can hear."

Sakura raised her eyebrows in surprise. "What?"

Her forehead stung again and she winced in pain. "You and that Sasuke brat are too close. You're _mine_, and I want _everyone_ to know it." He moved his head to her ear. "Say it."

Sakura clenched her teeth together, but the grains of sand dug deeper and deeper with each passing second and she thought she would scream. Finally, she opened her mouth.

"I love you, Gaara-kun," she announced as loudly as she could muster, pressing her lips against his for emphasis. Gaara was taken a bit by surprise, but obviously didn't mind. He wrapped an arm around her waist and moved a hand to the back of her head, kissing her harder and deeper. Sakura wasn't prepared for the sudden intensity and began wriggling in his grasp for air. He let go and she put a hand on her chest, breathing deeply. She looked around to find mixed reactions from her outburst. Many of the kunoichi were glaring at her (she noted that one of the blondes was trying to kill her with her eyes). Some of them were giving the pair awkward looks. She saw Naruto staring at her in horror, and as she continued to look, she failed to find someone.

Sasuke.

She pushed herself up from Gaara and stood. She made her way over to Naruto, trying hardest to ignore the looks of disgust from the other ninjas.

"Naruto, where's Sasuke?" she asked, careful to drop the 'kun' from his name. Naruto's gaze was on the floor, avoiding eye contact with her completely. "Naruto?"

"You were with him?" he asked softly, and Sakura barely caught it. He looked up at her, sadness dancing in his big, blue eyes. "This whole time?" An awkward pause greeted her after that.

"W-well…" she tried to explain, "it's…uh, complicated-"

"Because you know I like you, right?"

Sakura's green eyes widened. Sure she knew; he only made it clear every other second. It was just surprising for him to say so at such a serious time.

"I…" she shook her head. "Naruto, please, where's Sasuke."

He gave a lazy shrug. "I don't know. He disappeared after your little confession."

Before she could interrogate further, the sound of crashing and shattered glass filled the room. A purple haired woman flew through the window. "Alright, you maggots! Let's go! The second part of the test is about to begin!"

Ok, yeah yeah, it wasn't that great. The only part I really liked was his comment on the hair…NOW IT'S TIME TO REPLY!

* * *

**kasumi18: **She will…eventually. Lolz I'll make sure! I just try not to rush into things and keep up the fear. 

**Zutara Lover: **First off; Love you penname! Zutara forever! Second, sorry, but Gaara will be fighting Lee. However, a couple battles have been changed during the first round. Nothing big, but it's there. Stay tuned!

**EternalDeni: **It's okay, it's the thought that counts, ne? Never fear: I SHALL MAKE THE LOVE HAPPEN! …maybe…hehe

**GaaraxxxheartxxxAi: **Same with me! I love them! (hugs) Arigato for the fanart!

**Scarlet Assassin: **Maybe…only the story will tell!

gigi: I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! (bows) Haha, this is GaaSaku, but Sasuke has some feelings for Sakura and vice versa…It's mainly GaaSaku, though! Right now it's sort of one-sided but it'll change!

**Momoiro Usagi: **Arigato gozaimasu! …I just like saying that! Lolz, but anyway, I'm glad you like it!

**jxp7962: **JIYOUNG! SHUT UP ABOUT THE CHERRIES! Lolz, and I know Gaa-chan is weird. Watashi wa Ero-sempai! By the way, how do you say the pancake thing in Japanese again? "Ne, Sakura-chan, I'm making pancakes!"?

**-akatsuki-leader1-: **I liked your '15 ways to kiss Gaara' fic. I need to try some of those, lol. Thanks for the love!

**ThePinkBunniesLeaders: **You could take pictures and post them. That's what I do. Thanks for the love!

**Wolffriend87: **Uhh…sorry for…uh…taking so long, but…I, uh…updated…please put the phone down…lolz

**Kodukadvakch: **Wow, your name is hard to spell…haha, I'm glad you love it! I decided there was a lack of these kinds of fics…so I wrote what I want to read! If that makes any sense…it's ok, admit it, it's adorable (if it was me instead of Sakura (yeah right) I'd hug him and be like "YOU'RE SO CUTE" however that doesn't make for a good story :;)

**narutodippy: **Yay! Fanart please! (happy!!!) I'm glad you love it!

**PurpleNek0 n Haku'sBest12: **I like suffering, too. (high-five!) Glad you like it!

**shadow's new moon: **Hi Kaile! I know Gaara isn't being very pandalicious right now, but…it'll come…later…just not now. He's an evil killer, not my little panda (HE'S MINE XD). BTW, I can't wait to see the fanart when it's done!

Thank you also to: **Lady Azure, Phantom's Bride, al2010, sakura182, Sachichan16, ninja gal, xcherryxblossomxsakura-, Pigloo, ScarletNinja123, anubislover, xxtokidokixx, Twlight-28-17**, **DarknessinShadows, and Half Demon Half Angel!**


	5. Forest of Death :: part 1

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAKURA-CHAN!**

Mary: I am SO SORRY that I don't have time to answer reviews today. I thank you all though!!! (hugs everyone) Thank you so much for support!

Remember, fanart is appreciated!

Desert Flower stats

Reviews: 142  
C2s: 1 (Sakura sakura and sakura!)  
Favs: 58  
Alerts: 84

Disclaimer: Princess of Thieves does not own Naruto! If she did, there would totally be a GaaLeeSaku threesome! (GAALEE FOREVER!)

* * *

"Okay, here's how we'll do it." 

Sakura sighed. She didn't even bother to listen to Sasuke's plan. He and Naruto would probably ignore her anyway. They were upset with her. Naruto made that clear before, but Sasuke didn't say anything. His actions revealed how he felt. When she'd found him standing outside of the forest of death, he wouldn't look at her. He didn't reply to anything she said except with his trademark "Hn", and it hurt her.

She wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell him about her parents' mission. She wanted to tell about Yashamaru. She wanted to fall into his arms and cry and tell him everything.

The scar on her forehead told her to do otherwise.

"Sakura."

Sakura winced. There was no 'chan' on the end of her name. "You're going to carry the scroll. If Naruto has it, he'll lose it – "

"Hey! Teme!"

"And since I'm the strongest, people will expect _me_ to have it."

Sakura nodded. She gently took the scroll from Naruto's hand and hid it in her kunai pouch. The team made its way to their gate, awaiting the beginning of the second round.

"Sakura," Sasuke demanded again, and Sakura winced. "While we're in here…

"You'll tell us _everything._"

Sakura's eyes widened. She couldn't…

Before she could protest, the gate to the forest flew open and Sasuke and Naruto charged ahead. _"Kuso,"_ she muttered, pumping chakra into her feet to catch up to her teammates. She followed them up into the trees until they stopped above a team who was already resting. Silently, they determined the competition.

First, there was a large boy under a tree. From what Sakura could see, there were potato chips all around him (mostly in his mouth). Under the tree Sasuke stood in, there was a sleeping boy with a tight, bushy ponytail. Sakura nearly sweat-dropped.

'_His head looks like a pinapple!'_

The last was a blonde kunoichi. She was yelling at the fat one with her shrill, annoying voice.

"What's your problem, Chouji!?!" the blonde shrieked.

"I can't help it!" Chouji snapped, stuffing handfuls of potato chips at a time into his mouth. "A guy's gotta eat!"

"No guy's gotta eat _that_ much!"

"Ino, _shut up,_" the sleepy boy hissed. "You guys are so troublesome. What's a guy gotta do to sleep around here?"

"Pipe down, Shikamaru!"

"Naruto," Sasuke hissed, "you take the blonde. I'll take the fat one, and Sakura…" Sasuke trailed off when he saw Sakura's gaze. She was glaring intently at the blonde, shooting through her eyes.

"_What's your problem, forehead girl!?"_

She subconsciously tightened her grip on the branch she held onto. "I want the blonde," she declared, her voice leaving no room for arguments. Before Sasuke could reply, Sakura disappeared.

"Give me that!" Ino screamed, trying to wrench the potato chip bag from her teammate's hands.

"Back off, Ino!" Chouji cried. They shrieked back and forth at each other. Shikamaru's eye lids twitched with annoyance at their bickering, when all of a sudden his eyes snapped open. "Ino! Look out!"

Ino turned to the lazy ninja. "Wha- " She was cut off when a fist connected with her cheek. She was sent flying back into Chouji and into a tree with a _thud_. She gasped as she fell to the ground and clutched her swelling cheek. She looked up at the offender, at first surprised and shocked, then angry beyond belief.

"Forehead-girl…" she growled, leaping up and aiming a punch for Sakura. Sakura mimicked the blonde. Before they could make contact, both of their wrists were grabbed, taking them by surprise.

"Break it up," Sasuke told them, releasing their wrists. Ino squealed, clutching her wrist to her chest and screaming about "her Sasuke-kun" had touched her. Sakura rolled her eyes, her cheeks lightly tinted pink, and turned to Shikamaru. "Give us your scroll," she commanded.

"Sakura, calm down," Sasuke ordered.

Shikamaru sighed. "Geez, what a drag," he muttered, reaching into his vest and bringing out a scroll with the word "heaven" on the ground. "This it?"

Sakura sighed. "Damn it," she muttered, taking their scroll from her pouch. It was identical to Shikamaru's. "Same scroll."

"Aww," Naruto whined from his spot. "Then let's go before the earth scrolls are all gone!" He was immediately jumping through the trees, shortly followed by Sasuke. Before Sakura could follow, a hiss of "Forehead-girl" caught her attention.

"I'll get you…" Ino spat, glaring kunai and shuriken at her. Sakura stared for a moment before following her teammates. _"YOU HEAR ME, FOREHEAD GIRL!?"_ Ino's scream echoed after her. No one saw, but a tear found its way down Sakura's face.

* * *

The sun had set, making the Forest of Death dark and frightening. It was difficult to see your hand in front of your face, and the cold dug into your skin, chilling your blood. 

Sakura blew into her hands, rubbing them together before holding them near their fire. Naruto snored loudly, turning over in his sleep and wrapping his blanket around himself. Sasuke had his eyes closed and was leaning against a tree trunk. His shift for keeping watch was in a few hours. Sakura sighed, her breath appearing in front of her. A shiver shot through her spine and she wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her arms to keep warm.

"Here."

A blanket fell on her head and she immediately wrapped it around herself to keep the body warmth she had left. When her face was free of the fluffy red material, she saw Sasuke sitting beside her, staring at the fire. She turned to see Naruto missing his blanket. Her head whipped back. "Sasuke!" she hissed.

"He won't miss it," he replied, glancing at her. "When did I lose my title?"

"Huh?"

"Sasuke-_kun_?" he reminded. "Now it's just Sasuke?"

"O-oh," she said, turning her attention back to the fire. "I can't…"

"Can't what?"

"I just can't, okay?" She continued to staring at the fire. "Go back to sleep, Sasuke."

"Not until you answer me, Sakura."

"What happened to Sakura-_chan_?" she countered.

"Why won't you tell me anything anymore, Sakura!" Sasuke cried, and Sakura instantly wrapped her blanket tighter around herself. Sasuke grabbed Sakura's shoulder to twist her around. Not expecting this, she squeaked and fell back with Sasuke leaning over her, a hand on either side of her head. "Why won't you tell me? Who is Gaara, and how are you connected? He does nothing but hurt you, so why do you still love him? Why are you marked the same as him, Sakura!? Why won't you answer me!?"

"Don't you think I would if I could, Sasuke!?" Sakura screamed, catching him by surprise. "Don't you think you would know if the situation weren't so damn complicated? Stop moping around about how everything is about poor old _you_ when this has next to nothing to do with you!"

"Why won't you tell me!?"

_Slap_

Sasuke's head whipped to the side, a hand print glowing on his cheek. He sat back, a shocked look covering his face, as he held his cheek with his palm. Sakura sat back up, pulling her blanket around herself. "I can't, Sasuke," she said softly. "Can't you understand? I have to love him. I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

Sasuke pleaded.

Sakura reached out, grabbing his icy cold hand and moving it to her face. She brushed his fingers against the mark on her forehead. "It's bad enough I'm talking to you alone," Sakura whispered. "When I displease him, I bleed."

Sasuke's eyes widen. Cautiously, he moved his fingers over the mark, feeling every indent in her skin. It had begun healing from its previous bleeding, and it was still sensitive. He pulled his hand back and stared at the fire, trying to cut himself off.

Sakura watched him with nothing better to stare at. He appeared completely calm, as if the lack of heat didn't affect him. Sakura saw through it, though. Goosebumps coated his arms, and he let out a shuddering breath. Even without his tough act, he looked pathetically freezing in her eyes.

Sasuke looked up as warmth fell over his shoulders. Sakura had placed half of her blanket over him and scooted closer. "You'll catch a cold, she muttered. She squeaked as Sasuke pulled her onto his lap, his arms wrapping around her waist to keep her from moving. _"Sasuke."_

"It's cold," he said, monotonous. "We need to share body head, or we'll _both_ get sick."

Sakura sighed, knowing Sasuke was too stubborn to argue with. She leaned back into his chest and stared at the fire. Eventually, her vision began to blur and she soon fell asleep.

* * *

When Sakura began to wake, she noticed something was…odd. She felt something weighing down on top of her, but she didn't know what it was. She couldn't feel the softness of her blanket, nor the firm warmth of Sasuke's body. When the strong scent of blood hit her nose, her eyes snapped open and she sat up. Sand fell from her body, and Sakura gagged. It reeked of blood, and the scent overwhelmed her. She kicked her way out of the sand and stood up, backing away from the pile she'd slept in. Something met her ankles and she tripped, falling on her butt. She looked to see what she fell on, only to see a mummy with brown hair on the ground. She slowly turned her head to see a familiar purple painted face. 

'_K-Kankuro-san!'_

Sakura jumped up and backed from the sand nin. He was asleep against a tree, much to her luck. She looked into the branches, and saw Temari asleep on a branch, clutching her closed fan like a teddy bear.

"How…" she whispered. "When…"

She felt an arm snake around her waist, pulling her into someone's body. A hand ran its fingers through her hair as the person rested their chin on her shoulder.

"I thought I told you not to speak with him alone, _Sakura-chan_," Gaara hissed, h is breath hot on her ear. Sakura's entire body tensed. "Don't worry. I won't kill him."

'_Yet,'_ she thought, the unsaid word ringing loudly in the silence.

"You need him to pass this part of the Chuunin Exams. However…"

The point of a kunai dug into her back, slowly trailing up her body. "You still need your punishment."

The kunai reached the base of her neck and turned on its side so the blade faced up. The hand in her hair suddenly clenched, causing Sakura to gasp and clench her teeth as he pulled her hair.

"What are you _doing_?" Sakura hissed through her teeth.

She couldn't see the smirk covering Gaara's face. "Fixing the mistake you made."

_Slice_

Sakura's eyes widened. Pink danced across her vision as rose colored locks floated with the breeze.

He'd cut off her hair.

* * *

Mary: Read and review, onegaaaaaaiiiiiiiii! 


	6. Forest of Death :: part 2

Mary: FINALLY I'm back! I"m really sorry everyone, but I can explain:

One, I've had drama practices like crazy, and if not drama then it's dance or Tai Kwon Doe.

Two, my grades are slowly declining (as in, no longer straight A's) so I've actually had to pay attention in class.

Last, I posted the story on a livejournal community...but some retard had to go and pick out all the tiny fucking details! You can read about it on my livejournal. The link's on my page. I went through a small emo time, but now I'm better

Also, there has been a threat to our high school. Someone threatened to shoot more people than Virginia Tech and another place (I forget) combined. Also, someone in the boy's bathroom at our school spelled out death threats to our principal in the stalls. I don't know who the fuck did it, but I will fucking kill you! My play is postponed after I had to miss my fucking Tai Kwon Do test because of your fucking threats, and school's canceled tomorrow which takes away the point of even freaking out and missing the test. Fuck you. Honestly, fuck you.

(turns off emo button) anyway, thank you for loving my story! (much love to you all! (huggles))

Remember, I love fanart!

Disclaimer: Princess of Thieves does not own Naruto...but she owns an adorable Sasukitty plushie!!!

* * *

A tear found its way down Sakura's cheek as a few more locks of pink fell to the ground. She was seated on Temari's lap, resting against her chest, as the older girl pulled on locks of hair and sliced them away. Temari had insisted that she fix up Sakura's hair after Gaara had messily chopped it all off. Kankuro was sitting in front of them, his legs crossed, and checking Temari's work. 

"The left side's longer than the right side," he reported.

"How long?" Temari asked, her fingers grasping the pink substance.

Kankuro squinted his eyes. "About three centimeters."

Temari cut off the lock with extreme precision. Sakura sighed, leaning into the older girl's body. "Temari-san? Kankuro-san?" she addressed, catching their attention. "Why are you being so nice? I mean, I know Gaara probably wants you to protect me, but…" she fingered her cleanly cut hair. "Why this?"

The siblings looked at each other, silently discussing their answers. After a moment, Temari sighed. She wrapped her arms around Sakura and rested her chin on her head. "Because…we owe you our lives."

"Correction," Kankuro cut in. "We owe ten of our lives."

"At least."

Sakura sighed. "No, you don't," she insisted. "I told you."

"Yes, we do," Temari replied.

"No! You don't owe me anything!"

* * *

"_Blood…"_

_Temari froze. She dropped the brush she'd been using in fear. Gaara's voice drifted through their home, and it didn't sound friendly. She quickly slid off of her bed and ran for the door, reaching to lock it. Before she reached the knob, the door flew open. She squealed and fell back._

_The heard someone squeal as well and land on their rear. Temari looked up, and in front of her sat Kankuro, his purple make-up only covering the top of his face. She could see smudges of it on his black cloak, as if he'd dropped it like she did her brush._

"_Onee-san!" Kankuro cried once he was sure he was safe. Temari quickly clamped a hand over the boy's mouth._

"_Shh!" she hissed. The sound of broken glass filled the air. _'There goes the vase,'_ Temari thought. As the shifting of sand reached her ears, she dragged Kankuro into her room and closed the door. She clicked the lock shut and gulped._

"_Nee-san…" Kankuro said softly, on the verge of crying._

"_Shh, Kankuro," she shushed, pulling him to her. She gently rocked him back and forth, causing his whimpers to be muffled in her shoulder. The eight-year-old tried to hold back his sobs, but the fear of death clawed at his heart._

_The shifting of sand once again drifted to their ears. Before Temari could hide, there was a sickening crack as the sand burst through the door, causing splinters to shower everywhere. Temari shielded Kankuro from the flying wood, wincing as some of the pieces dug into her back._

"_I need…_blood…_"_

_Temari turned her head to see the object of their fear. She saw her six-year-old brother, clutching his head in pain. His blue eyes were full of blood lust, and the growl coming from his throat couldn't be human. Itchy grains began crawling up her body, but she was frozen. She couldn't even get her eyes to look away from his. She gasped as the grains tightened around her form, pushing the air from her lungs. _

"_Nee-san!" Kankuro cried, his hands trying to dig into the sand to rescue his sister. He screamed when the sand grasped his wrist and crawled up his body._

"_Let your blood…_rain_…"_

_Temari couldn't breath. She tried to flail and move but the sand continued to constrict around her. She saw black spots dance across her vision, and felt consciousness slipping from her._

"_N-No!"_

_Suddenly, the sand loosened. Temari greedily gulped down the air as it rushed back into her lungs. The sand didn't leg go, but it merely held her up in the air. As she gained control of her breathing, she looked to see why her brother had spared her. In front of her, there stood a pink haired girl with her back facing her. The rosette's arms were stretched out, as if to block the attack._

_This girl had protected them._

_She was _defying_ Gaara._

"_P-Please," came the girl's whimpered beg. "Don't hurt them. They're your family…"_

"_Family…" Gaara murmured, his voice sounding sickened. "I have no family. Their blood runs through my veins. That is the extent of their existence."_

_Temari watched at the girl began wincing in pain. She saw something drip from her face to the floor, and assumed it was sweat. "G-Gaara-kun," she pleaded. Temari's amazement grew with the familiar use of her brother's name._

"_They wanted my blood to run," Gaara murmured, his face twisting into a sick smirk.   
"Their blood is my blood." The air was forced from Temari's lungs as the sand began crushing her form. Her mouth was open, but she couldn't breath. She felt the pressure on her bones. She heard a sharp sound, like a crack, and without warning she was dropped onto the floor. She didn't move in fear that something could've been broken, but no pain jolted through her body. Cautiously, she pushed herself up, and found that movement didn't bring pain, either. She looked back to the pair of six-year-olds, and what she saw made her jaw drop._

_Nothing had cracked._

_Nothing had broken._

_She had _slapped_ him._

_The rosette girl had injured Gaara._

_The girl was visibly shaking, and she brought her hand to her face. Gaara's aura had darkened – a feat which Temari previously thought impossible. "G-Gaara-kun, I-I…" she stuttered, her voice shaking with fear. A growl escaped from Gaara, like an angry animal. He grabbed the girl's wrist, and his blue eyes were frightening enough to haunt Temari's nightmares._

"_Do you want to take their place, _Sakura-chan_?" Gaara hissed. The sand slinked away from his siblings. A maniacal grin twisted onto his face. "I _need_ it…I need your blood, Sakura!"_

_Piercing screaming burst through Sakura's throat, and Temari's hands flew up to her ears. She saw blood burst from the girl's forehead and felt like she would have, but she couldn't move her hands to cover her mouth. She bit her lip to force the bile back as Sakura's shrieks only increased. Kankuro began wailing in disturbance, clutching Temari's leg for protection._

_All of a sudden, the screaming was replaced by sobbing as his attack on her stopped. Tears mixed with her blood as it ran down her cheeks. Gaara lapped up the blood he could get from her face. "I don't want you hurt, Sakura-chan…stop making me mad." He hissed his warning before giving her a surprisingly tender kiss on her temple before leaving the dark room. Temari was shivering from the clearly disturbing scene, but she continued to watch the rosette child._

_Sakura shook from fear or exhaustion before she fell to her knees. She gracelessly tipped over and fell to the ground. Temari gasped, rushing to the girl's side with Kankuro in tow. She dropped to her knees to see the damage, and gasped to see the unusually deep wound on her forehead. Blood flowed heavily from it, coating the area with the red liquid, and Temari covered her mouth in shock. She quickly lifted the girl ino her arms and rushed from the room with Kankuro following after her._

"_Nee-san, did she save us?"_

_Temari didn't turn around. She didn't even reply. She kept rushing through the halls of the Kazekage's home for the exit_

* * *

"_Don't hurt them!"

* * *

_

"_Please, G-Gaara-kun…"_

* * *

_Piercing screams echoed everywhere. Temari's hands couldn't block the sound from her ears.

* * *

_

_Sakura sat straight up in her bed, wincing as she accidentally pulled the IV from her arm. She was frantically looking around, confused as to why she'd ended up there. Memories flooded back into her head, sending a flow of nausea to roll over her stomach. She reached up to touch the mark on her forehead, and found bandages wrapped tightly around her head._

"_Are you okay?"_

_Sakura's vision shifted toward the door. There was Temari, standing in the threshold with a small bouquet of daisies. Kankuro clung to her fishnet-clad leg. "I-I think so…" she muttered, her small fingers grasping the bandages and tugging at them to get them off._

"_N-No, don't do that!" Temari cried, quickly dumping the daisies on a nearby table and rushing to stop her. She grabbed her wrist as the bandages began to cascade down her head. Half of them rested on her shoulders as Temari tried to grab them and tie them back._

"_No, let go!" Sakura struggled, trying to rip off the rest of the bandages._

"_You just stopped bleeding! You're going to hurt yourself!"_

"_I'll hurt more if Gaara-kun finds out I'm hiding the mark!"_

_Temari's eyes widened, dropping the bandages and her wrist. The rest of the wrappings fell, leaving Sakura's forehead exposed. Temari, for the first time, noticed the love kanji over Sakura's eye. IT still looked raw, but it no longer bled. She immediately thought of one person._

"_Did Gaara…"_

_Sakura nodded, fingering the mark. "I love only him and fight only for him…" she recited, "because Yashamaru did not."_

"_Yashamaru-san…" Temari murmured._

_Sakura's eyes turned to the table. "Are those for me?"_

_Temari looked back at the daisies. "Umm, yeah…"_

_Sakura pushed herself up and gently lowered herself to the cold floor. She rushed to the multi-colored daisies, picking them up and cradling them in her arms. "What for?"_

_She heard shifting behind her, and turned back. Temari had slid down onto her knees with her hands out in front. Her forehead rested on her hands. "Sakura-sama…I am in your debt."_

_The daisies dropped to the ground. "W-what?"_

"_You've saved our lives," Temari explained. "Over the past few months, you've saved us many times. We're forever in your debt."_

"_You don't have to," Sakura insisted. "You don't owe me anything."_

"_I owe you my life," Temari pushed._

"_No, you don't!"_

"_Yes, I do!"_

"_No!"_

"_Damn it, Sakura! You've saved me so many times and I'm going to help you until my debt is repayed!"_

Slam

_The siblings and Sakura's heads turned back to the door. Gaara stood there, panting as if he'd been running. His eyes rested on Sakura, who tensed under his gaze. His eyes then glared at his siblings. "Get out," he hissed._

_Temari gave a careful glance to Sakura before lifting herself from the ground. She grabbed Kankuro's wrist and carefully walked past Gaara. As she exited, she turned to look back into the room, and saw Gaara glaring at them. Sakura was curled up on the bed, but before Temari looked around more, Gaara's sand closed the door, blocking her view._

* * *

"Is she done?" 

All three heads snapped in the voice's direction. There was Gaara, as impatient looking as always. Sakura felt sand grasp her wrist, ripping her from Temari's grasp and throwing her into his arms. HE nuzzled his nose into her hair, enjoying the shortened length. "Much better," he murmured. He opened his eyes to glare at his siblings. "Scout out the area," he ordered.

They looked uneasily at each other before muttering "Hai" and stood, jumping into the trees.

Gaara and Sakura stood still for a little while longer. A breeze blew through the area they rested in, causing a shiver to crawl up Sakura's spine. Oddly enough, she found comfort in the sand nin's grasp. He was oddly enough…_warm_.

"Gaara-kun…" she requested softly. "I need to…" she took a deep breath. "I need to get back to my teammates." She gasped as his embrace possessively tightened.

_Warm comfort gone._

"You don't want to be here…" he concluded almost threateningly.

"N-No! It's not that!" she cried, trying to convince him it wasn't his fault. "It's just…I've been missing a while day, and if they don't make it, I won't make it. Plus, if they find me with you, they'll jump to conclusions and cause you trouble!"

Gaara's grip remained tight, rolling over the pros and cons in her head. Eventually, his grip loosened enough for her to relax. She felt him push something into her hand. "Go," he whispered. He gave her a quick kiss, keeping his lips on hers for only a moment before stepping back. She shielded her eyes as his sand swirled around him, and took him away. Only then did she look at the item in her hand. From what she could tell, there was cloth wrapped around a scroll. She carefully slid the cloth off, and couldn't help but gasp.

He'd given her an earth scroll.


	7. Forest of Death :: part 3

Mary: I'm back! Who missed me? (gets rotton tomatoes thrown at her) ok, yeah, I deserved that -.-;; I am SO sorry that I didn't get this up sooner!!! Things have been busy! School got let out two weeks ago, and before that I had the East Coast tournament to work at, but now I have my brand new laptop, and I can type whenever I want! (I could easily type chapter 8, but...not 'til I get some reviews).

And sorry for any spelling mistakes! (there's probably a million) I haven't installed any microsoft products yet (I only got it like 3 days ago!) so all I have is wordpad, and that doesn't have spellcheck hehe...sorry

again, I apologize for the two-month wait, so here's Chapter 7!

* * *

_'I don't like this,'_ Sakura thought, jumping from branch to branch. It had been hours since she'd left to find her teammates. She'd finally sensed their chakra, but she could feel a third chakra with them. It was dark - darker than Gaara's. It was powerful - more powerful than Gaara's. She didn't think such a chakra existed.

The cool air blew against her forehead, leaving an odd sensation on her face. It was odd to have that part of her exposed. Her bangs had always covered it, but right now she knew better. The cloth covering her scroll had been a headband, complete with small glacc beads forming vines and flowers all over it. He'd wanted her to show her mark, so everyone would know who she belonged to.

_'Bastard...'_

Her thoughts were cut off by a loud cry shooting through the air. It was a boy's voice, and it was in pain. Nausea clawed at her stomach at the familiarity of the voice. _'Sasuke-kun!' _She picked up her pace, quickly arriving at the source of the voice. A gbasp escaped her lips at the sight. Naruto was pinned to a tree, obviously currently useless. There was a grass nin whose face - Sakura covered her mouth, nearly heaving - had been nearly torn away. Sasuke's position, though, nearly tore her heart apart.

Sasuke was crouching on the ground, clutching his shoulder and drawing blood with his nails. He was crying out in pain, as if something had bit him, but so much louder and pained.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun!" she cried out without thinking. She rushed forward, throwing her arms around him and pulling him into her chest. She held him still as he writhed in pain, trying to keep him calm. She glared up at the grass woman, disgusted to find her mangled face smirking and laughing at her. She grabbed a kunai from her pouch for protection. "What do you want?" she demanded.

The woman chuckled, but her voice deepened, almost masculine. "So, you're the one," she murmured, beginning to walk away.

"W-wait!" she called uncertainly. "What did you do to Sasuke-kun?"

The woman turned back and chuckled. "Sasuke-_kun_, is it? I don't think your boyfriend would like that..."

"_What_ did you do to him?" she forced the words as best she could from her mouth. She didn't think of the 'boyfriend' comment; her teammate was more important.

The nin smirked. "I just...left him a little gift," she - or he, judging by his voice - replied. Before she could continue to question, the nin faded into teh branch below them. Sakura stared at the place the nin had once stood, trying to comprehend what happened.

Sasuke shivered in her grasp, unconciously moving into the warmth of Sakura's body. She blushed as he snuggled into her, and held him close for only a moment. She still had to get Naruto down from that tree. She moved Sasuke from her arms and set him against the tree trunk before moving to help her teammate from his current position.

"..._Iie..._"

Sakura's wrist was caught in Sasuke's freezing grip. The boy's eyes were still clenched shut, and goosebumps coated his shaking arms. He wouldn't let go, as if the warmth would leave him forever if he did. She allowed a sad smile to cover her face as she kneeled to him.

"I'll be right back, I promise," she whispered, as if his unconcious form could comprehend. She brushed the bangs from his dirt-streaken face, staring lovingly at her teammate. Before she could stop herself, she'd placed her lips on his forehead, giving him a warm, comforting kiss. Sasuke's shivering seemed to pause, his grip loosened on her wrist. She slipped away before his grip could tighten, and moved to save her blond teammate.

* * *

_A fire was lit, and Sakura was hidden with her teammates from view. She hadn't slept, in fear someone would attack them in their weakened state. Her head bobbed up and down as sleep clawed into her mind. She had to protect them. She _had_ to._

_"Ah, my head..."_

_Sakura whipped around. Naruto was sitting up, rubbing his blond head. _'Naruto!' _she thought, pushing herself up._

_"Hn, dobe," Sasuke replied, pushing himself up as well. "Told you that I could kick the enemy's ass."_

_"Shut it, teme!" Naruto cried. "We still need to find Sakura-chan!"_

_"Um, hello? I'm right here..." Sakura opened her mouth to say that, but she was shocked when no sound escaped her mouth. She touched her lips, unable to understand why she couldn't speak. "Hello?" she trid again, but she still remained silent._

_"Right. Where could she be?" Sasuke pondered._

_"Maybe she ran off with Gaara," Naruto spat._

_"It is a possibility," Sasuke admited, "but she wouldn't abandon us like that."_

_"How do you know?"_

_"I just know, dobe."_

_Sakura sighed. _'You have no idea how right you are, Naruto...'

_Something shifted, and she froze. She knew that kind of shift anywhere. Millions of grains of sand moved, crawling against the ground toward her oblivious teammates. "Naruto! Sasuke! Look out!" But it was useless. Her voice remained frozen as the danger continued to creep up to them. She found herself unable to move and help them, much to her annoyance. She could only sit helplessly as the sand encased her teammates quickly and effortlessly squeezing the breath from their lungs, until-_

Sakura bolted straight up, gasping for breath. She was panting, trying to calm her beating heart. Her head snapped from side to side, trying to assure the danger wasn't there.

Her teammates laid by her, asleep and safe. The fire had died, with only a few burning embers in its place. No one was around but them, and she found herself calming down a bit.

"Thank Kami," she sighed in order to test her voice. She was pleased when sound vibrated from her chest.

_Thunk_

Sakura froze. A kunai embedded itself into the bark by her head. Slowly, she turned in the direction she assumed it came from. _'Oh no...'_

There, before her, stood another team of genin, but they were _nothing_ like Ino's group. A dangerous aura was bouncing all around them. They weren't friendly. They meant business. One was a boy with spiky brown hair, and a disgusting smirk on his face. The second nin was covered in bandages, and something fuzzy rested on his back. Last, the kunoichi of the group had look black hair and a killer look.

"Look," the girl spat, "The only one who'll put up a fight is this pathetic little thing." She lifted a hand, showing off the kunai placed between each finger. "Too bad, sweetie. We're here for Sasuke."

"Don't touch him," Sakura hissed, pushing herself up.

"Protective, aren't we?" the bandage-wrapped boy teased. "I'm sure your little _boyfriend_ won't be happy."

Sakura glared at him. "Don't. Touch. Him," she repeated.

The kunoichi threw her kunai, and they hit Sakura right on the dot. A satisfied smirk graced her face until Sakura burst into a puff of smoke, leaving only a log behind. "Damn it,' she muttered.

Sakura lept down from the trees, her hands flying through the hand signsl. _"Ino, nezumi, inu, ryu, inu, ushi, usagi," _she muttered, feeling her chakra build up in her body. "Earth style! Quick sand binding jutsu!" She slammed her fist into the ground, sending chakra through the forest floor. The soil bubbled, turning to the gry, grainy substance she was so familiar with. Immediately, the nins couldcn't move. They began sinking into the ground, despite their struggles, as the sand crawled up their bodies and pulled them into the ground.

"Damn you," the kunoichi hissed as the sand grasped her up to her shoulders.

Sakura landed on ground uncontaminated by sand, quickly catching her breath. She was surprised that _that_ technique had been the first to pop into her head. Of anything, why would _sand_ be the first thing she could think of?

_"Like this, Sakura-chan."_

Goosebumps trailed up her arms at her glashback. She could almost feel _Gaara's hands on her skin, teaching her the hand signs to that jutsu. He'd stood behind her, gently holding her wrists and helping her to position her fingers._

_"Inu," he murmured. His hot breath fanned over the back of her neck as he covered one of her fists with her palm. Sakura blushed, and felt the chakra flow through her system. For a moment, he'd seemed out of focus, as if he didn't know what came next. Out of nowhere, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. He burried his face in her hair and breathed in her scent._

_"You'll be strong," he almost vowed, but Sakura knew it was an order. "You will fight for me, and only for me. No one else, not even for Suna..."_

_"Or Konoha?"_

_He hugged her closer. "Why would you fight for them?"_

_Sakura gulped. "W-Well, it's my home..."_

_"No," he said, "your home is here."_

_Sakura felt him turn her around and push her back into the sand below them. "You're mine, Sakura. You're always mine, and forever, you'll stay here." He lowered himself down on top of her, stradling her waist and putting his hand on either side of her head. "In Suna." He lowered his face to hers, brushing his lips arainst her tattoo. "_With me._"_

_She laid under him, clenching her eyes shut as he placed his lips everywhere over her face. She couldn't leave. He wouldn't let her._

_How could she tell him. How could she say that Hokage-sama and Kazekage-sama were fighting about her stay? That Hokage-sama would call off the treaty with Suna unless his citizen was safely returned? That, despite Gaara's orders..._

_She had to leave._

_She winced as Gaara's tongue replaced his lips, staying over her mark. "Stay here," he demanded. If Sakura didn't know better, she'd say he were pleading. "Stay and love me..."_

_Bang_

A giant air current threw her back into a tree, hitting it with a thud. She slid down, rough bark biting into her back. She looked ahead to see what happened. The sand had been blown away, and the nins stood once again. The spiky-haired nin had his arms out. "What a lame jutsu," he said with a smirk. Sakura cursed herself, them, and anything else she could think of before leaping up to dodge shuriken flying her way.

"Annoying little..." the kunoichi muttered. The bandaged nin snickered at her failure.

"I'll take care of her," he said through his snicker. He pulled up his sleeve, revealing a hole-filled metal plate on his wrist. As Sakura continued to fall, he flicked his finger against the plate, sending waves of sound flying toward her.

The waves coursed through her form. Every bone rattled in her body. Her blood boiled, and her skin vibrated. She clenched her teeth, but everything _hurt_. She couldn't hold it back; she screamed, in absolute agony, as if the waves tore her body apart. She fell to the ground, landing with a _thud_. She felt blood dribble from her ear, but her body ached too much for her to wipe it away.

"Weak little thing," the kunoichi cackled. Sakura struggled to push herself up as the nin made her way toward Sasuke. She tossed her hair back, rubbing her victory in Sakura's face, and bent over to grab Sasuke's collar. Suddenly, she froze, eyes wide and hand trembling. She lept back, barking a "Retreat!" before jumping into the trees. Her teammates followed, obviously understanding the supposed problem in her plan. Sakura's eyes showed her confusion, but were glazed over wit hexhaustion. She pushed herself up with her arms, locking them so she wouldn't fall. The rest of her body was sprawled on the ground, but she was too tired to move it and rest on her knees. She looked back up at where Sasuke rested and gasped.

He was gone.

Suddenly, she felt it. A massive amount of chakra washing over her like a giant, deadly waterfall. It took a moment for her to register where the source was.

It was behind her.

On top of her.

Breathing into _her_ ear.

"Sakura-chan..."

Her body froze. A pair of arms snaked over her shoulders and landed on the ground, keeping the person up and her downl. She ended up bending her elbows under their weight. They placed a knee on either side of her body, stradling the back of her waist. Their breath fanned out over the side of her face. "Who did this to you?"

"Sasuke-kun..." she whispered. She was terrified. This wasn't her teammate. It couldn't be, but she knew it was. The sickening feeling in her stomach told her so. She trembled as he lifted one of his hands and sensually ran it along her side, feeling every developing curve she could give him.

"Was it Gaara, Sakura-chan?" he demanded. "Did he hurt you again?" His nails dug into her hip, causing her to grit her teeth to ignore the pain. "I'll kill him," he hissed, causing Sakura's eyes to widen. "I'll kill him, _Sakura-chan_. You'll never have to love im again. _Never._"

"Sa-Sasuke-kun," she gasped as he nipped at her ear. Without warning, he pushed her onto the ground and rolled her over, staring into her eyes. Sakura gasped. Flame-like blotches covered his skin, and his sharingan burned brightly. His hands had grabbed her wrists and were squeezing, on the bridge of breaking the bones.

_"I will not be alone anymore!"_

Sakura cried out in pain, from both the memory and her aching wrists...but that's when it hit her; he - this insane, crazed side of Sasuke - was like _Gaara._ Unstable, full of bloodlust, and one obsession...

_Her._

She clenched her eyes shut. She could think of only one way to calm him down, but chances were she'd make it worse for herself. With no other plans available, she took a deep breath and stretched her neck up, pressing her lips against his. She didn't feel him respond, or let go of her wrists, so she pushed herself further into him, hoping to get his grip to lessen. After a moment, she felt Sasuke respond, but not nearly as harsh as she thought he would. He was gentle, the way Sakura imagined _her_ Sasuke would be. However, it only lasted for a few moments. Without warning, Sasuke crashed down on her body. Lip contact ended as he fell unconcious on top of her. She gasped, the breath quickly being pushed out of her. Her eyes caught the black markings slither back to his shoulder, disappearing into three comma markings on his shoulder. _'Where did he...'_ she thought. She pushed herself up, Sasuke in her lap, and gently layed her finger on the mark.

Sasuke hissed in pain, and she snatched her hand back like he was on fire. _'What is this?'_ she wondered, but was afraid to touch it again. She carefully dragged him back where Naruto laid, under a tree with roof-like roots. She sat down, leaning against a root, wiping the sweat and dirt from her forehead.

Suddenly, Sakura's arms were forced behind her. Before she could so much as gasp, her body was bound to the root, with _sand_ and before she could comprehend her position, more sand slammed into her forehead.

She shrieked louder than she thought humanly possible. Oh God, it _hurt_, the sand practically stabbing her forehead, but she didn't think she could have felt more pain if someone had stabbed her leg and twisted. Her cries echoed throughout the forest as blood began pouring from her mark. Soon, the sand around her began to tighten, squeezing the air from her lungs and digging into her arms. Soon her arms were coated in blood, and her throat was raw from screaming.

It seemed like an eternity until the sand stopped attacking her. It slinked from her body, leaving her leaning against the root. Tears soaked her face and mixed with her blood, and her sight was blurred. She slipped in and out of conciousness before finally closing her eyes. The only thing she was bothered about before everything went black was th flash of green across her vision, but she couldn't dwell on it for long.

* * *

Mary: There you go, you fangirls you! Review, onegai! OR YOU'LL NEVER SEE CHAPTER 8! 


	8. Preliminaries :: part 1

I've returned with the promised chapter 8! Did you miss me? (gets shot)

…I know this is the part where I say "sorry, I've been busy with tests" or "the computer was down" or something like that, but here's my excuse:

I'm **lazy**.

That…and my inspiration is continuously declining. I'm not even a huge GaaSaku fan anymore, I keep writing because if I don't finish this story I'm gonna feel like shit. I've never finished a story, so just bare with me and help me through this, k?

I'll give you a couple quick updates: I'm going to officially be a high school freshman in about two weeks.

I'm pissed off because I want to quit my karate class because I was accepted onto a competition dance team, but I can't quit kuz we're under contract until next april or may. Hopefully I can get the allergist to say that my asthma is too bad to continue TKD (and in my opinion, it _is_ just a tad too bad)

I'm going to an alternate HS from the one all of my friends are going to. My HS, I think, is pwnsome. I mean, we get open campus and all that shit, while the regular kids are stuck in class all day, and as oppose to studying "English 09", I'm taking "Contemporary Asian Literature". I love Japan/Asia, lol…Yes, I am wapanese. Deal with it. I am a happy weeboo, a foxing happy weeboo.

Alright, so here's the newest chapter. It's 8 pages long without the author's note, my longest chapter yet. Hopefully it'll make up for making you wait.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would be getting paid to do this.

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_Cherry Blossom's Heaven; Naruto Lovers; Sakura Heaven; Sakura Sakura and Sakura!; Sakura's Angels, Cherry Blossom's World; Stories I read; _and_ Stories.That.I.Read._

* * *

_Crying echoed through the white halls of the hospital. Sakura's head turned back and forth, trying to find the source of the whimpers. Her left arm ached, the bandages wrapped around it stained red. The doctor had put it in a sling, insisting it shouldn't be moved, but a sling made her feel weak. So she trudged through the sickly clean corridor, pain pulsing through her body. _

"_N-no, please," words began to echo through the halls. She could tell now, it was a boy screaming. She picked up her pace, trying to find the source. She continued down the hall, the cries becoming louder and louder. As she passed a door – number 215, had she glanced at the gold plate resting on it – the noise began to die down the slightest bit. She retraced her steps, once again standing before room 215. She pressed her ear against the door, and heard the muffled cries she'd been trying to find. Standing on her toes, she grasped the handle in her right hand and pulled down, pushing the door open._

_In the white bed across the room, the sheets curved around a small body. Curious, Sakura stepped forward into the room. Her feet stuck to the smooth floor, but the small noise of her lifting her foot was drowned out by the boy's pleas and whines. "I-Itachi…" the boy whined, shifting in his sleep. A worried expression crossed Sakura's face. She crossed the room, crawling up next to him on the bed, and stared at him. A light blush crossed her face. The boy was cute; she couldn't help but admit that. _

"_N-Nii-san, don't…" he moaned, rolling over in his sleep. Unfortunately, he ended up rolling onto Sakura, head resting on her lap. She blushed, but didn't make a move to remove him, in fear of waking him up. Instead she sat still, allowing him to find peace on her legs. His cries and pleas seemed to lessen, even more so when she ran her fingers through his raven locks. She sat with him in peace, until he stirred and slowly opened his eyes. They were onyx, darker than his hair. He blinked a few times, as if trying to comprehend where he was, before he realized he was on top of someone. His eyes darted back and forth before shooting up. "Who are you?" he demanded._

_Sakura couldn't answer. She wobbled on the edge of the bed, the force from the boy's movement pushing her back, and she tumbled to the floor. Her head landed with a sickening _thud_ on the ground, and pain danced around her body. Darkness began floating around her vision, and she couldn't move from the shock. She saw the boy jump down from his bed in panic, and his face hovered over hers. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" his voice echoed through her head. His head darted from left to right, like he was looking for help, before running outside of the room. His shouts echoed through the hallway, and soon she heard footsteps all rushing into a room. She felt herself being lifted and placed on something, and she groaned at the pain her body felt. _

"_Ne, I'm sorry!" she heard the boy say again. She looked to see him standing right by her. "Please don't be mad, I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" _

"_I-It's ok…" Sakura whispered. Her voice was almost drowned by the nurses' panic. The doctors that followed all looked at her, ignoring the raven-haired boy completely._

"_Isn't this the girl from Suna?"_

"_Yeah, her record says she was brought to Suna while her parents were on a mission, but wasn't returned here after her parents' death."_

"_What was the Kazekage thinking? The treaty between Suna and Konoha is delicate!"_

"_What was this _girl_ thinking, coming in here in he condition?"_

"_What condition?"_

"_Apparently when Hokage-sama went to retrieve her, she was attacked. She came back with cuts all up her leg and a broken arm."_

"_Poor kid…" echoed through her mind as the darkening corners of her eyes quilted the rest of her vision. _

_When she awoke, the pain in her head had close to disappeared. Only a dull throb pulsed every now and again. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her arm was back in a sling, which made her groan. She slowly began to remove it, being sure to cause the least amount of pain to her body as possible. _

"_Hey, don't!" someone said, grabbing her arm. Her head whipped to the side to see the one who opposed her. There was the boy from before, who had been crying in his sleep. "Your arm won't get better if you do that!"_

_Sakura wrenched her arm away. "So?" she demanded immaturely. "I don't wanna be weak!"_

"_But, if you keep injuring your arm, how can you get stronger?"_

_Sakura's eyes widened, but the boy just looked down. "I mean…if it doesn't heal right, you'll keep being weak…" _

_Sakura remained silent for a moment, running over the idea in her head. Slowly, she slipped the cling back over her head, and she felt the boy gently slip her arm back into safety. When all was said and done, she blushed out of her foolishness. "T-Thanks," she muttered._

"_Ne, what's your name?"_

"_Ah, I'm Sakura…and…you are…"_

"_Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke."_

* * *

When Sakura awoke, she could tell something was odd. First off, she could tell she was _alive_. The throbbing in her arms let her know that. Second, she couldn't feel the ground. She was _on top_ of something…something that was warm…but definitely not the ground. She moaned, opening her eyes. Luckily, there was little light to get use to, but she still had to blink the sleep away. Once her vision cleared, she gasped. Trees were racing by. She lifted her head to see what was going on.

"Sakura-san! So you are awake?"

Sakura jumped and squeaked in surprise. She looked down. _Now_ she comprehended. She was on this boy's back. "L-Lee-san!" she cried. Oh, why, why _him?_

"_Sakura-san! Please be my girlfriend! I swear I shall protect you with my life!"_

"Hai, my youthful blossom! It is I!"

"What happened?" she demanded. She now noticed the wrappings up and down her arms. Did he…

"I heard screams while traveling through the forest and it sounded like you! Your comrades were unconscious, and you were bleeding! I was frightened your youth would fade, so I helped you!"

Sakura's eyes softened. "Lee-san…" she murmured. She was relieved Gaara wasn't there to see-

Her eyes widened. Memories flooded back. Something had been wrong with Sasuke. She'd kissed him. He'd fallen unconscious. She'd rested…

Her eyes widened.

Oh God.

He'd _seen_.

And she knew that the sand from before would be the least of her problems…

Wait!

"Lee-san!" Sakura cried, "where are Naruto and Sasuke?"

"We left them behind."

Sakura turned her head. There was a boy leaping next to them with long coffee brown hair and pale white eyes. "It was Lee's idea to bring your team," another voice chimed in, this one female. She turned to the other side, seeing a girl with two buns in her hair. "But I didn't want to touch the blonde kid."

"And I wouldn't let that Uchiha _breath_ on me, let alone ride on my back," the boy said.

Lee sighed. "Neji-san and TenTen-chan's youth does not glow brightly…"

Worry hit Sakura's stomach. What if Naruto and Sasuke were still unconscious? They would be doomed. "B-But, Lee-san, Naruto and Sasuke can't pass if I have both of their scrolls!"

"Their destiny is different than yours," Neji replied. "Now stop whining"

Sakura winced at the ice coating Neji's voice. She held on tighter to Lee as the tower came into view.

* * *

"And this happened…_how_?"

Sakura's gaze remained on the floor. She'd opened both of her scrolls at once, as she'd been instructed to, and the area had filled with smoke…only to have Kakashi appear in front of her. He wasn't exactly pleased with the lack of teammates. "W-Well…"

He crossed his arms over his chest, his single onyx eye drilling into her. "Well?"

"There were nins that attacked us and knocked Naruto and Sasuke unconscious. I was hurt badly, but Lee-san found me and brought me here…he left Naruto and sasuke behind…"

"And that's it?" Kakashi pushed.

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"That's not the whole truth, is it?

Sakura bit her lip. "O-Of course it's the whole truth! Ask Lee-san, go on!"

Kakashi gave her an uneasy look. "All right, Sakura," he muttered, clearly unconvinced. He walked off, and she let out a sigh of relief.

"Sakura-san!"

Sakura squeaked as she was picked up and spun around "L-Lee-san!"

Lee put her down, smiling brightly. "The next round shall start soon! Are you not excited?" Sakura's stomach did a somersault.

"W-What? When?"

Lee blinked. "In a few minutes, Sakura-san!"

"Nani?" she cried desperately. Naruto and Sasuke couldn't _possibly_ make it in time!

"Hey! _LET ME IN! I NEED TO FIND MY TEAMMATE! BELIEVE IT!"_

…she'd been corrected.

"Naruto!" she cried, running to the enterance. A jounin stood there, blocking the way. She could see some orange from behind the jounin.

"Sakura!" Naruto cried, waving his hands over his head. "Tell this guy to let me in!"

Sakura tapped the jounin on the shoulder. "He's with me." The jounin looked at her, suspicious. "He's my teammate, we got separated," she explained, luckily without stuttering. The jounin slowly allowed Naruto to pass, and the blond flew by him, latching onto Sakura for dear life.

"N-Naruto!" she gasped out as his arms crushed her form into his.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered. "I…" something wet landed on her shoulder.

'_Is he…crying?'_

"I was so scared…" he murmured, clutching her like she would disappear otherwise. "I thought…you had…" A sob racked his body, and Sakura put her arms around her teammate, rubbing his back soothingly.

"Shh, Naruto…" she whispered. "It's ok, I'm fine…" she pulled away slightly to ask him, "Naruto, where's Sasuke?"

She didn't have to wait for an answer. The jounin was blasted back from the door way, like someone didn't have time to mess with him. Sakura barely got a glance of the figure in the doorway before he was right in front of her. His hand came down sharply on her cheek, whipping her head to the side.

"Sakura-san!" she heard Lee's voice in the distance.

"You traitor…" she heard Sasuke's voice hiss. It was so cold, she almost shivered. "Not one night into the forest and you leave us. We went through hell to try and find you, and you repay us be sneaking off and abandoning us. Where the hell were you?"

Sakura's eyes widened. He didn't remember…she'd _kissed_ him, and he didn't remember. He didn't understand. He didn't even wait for an explanation. He just assumed.

"How dare you…" Sakura whispered. Sasuke paused, a slightly confused look on his face.

"What?" he demanded.

Sakura turned her head back, her eyes glaring at him like hell. "How dare you!" she screamed, causing all heads to turn in the two's direction. "How dare you assume that I would betray my own team! I risked my ass and went through hell to protect you and all I get is a slap in the face? I nearly got myself killed to make sure you were alright!"

"You weren't there when we woke up!" Sasuke accused. "I know you, Sakura. If you cared, you would've stayed whether it cost you your life or not. We come here and find you fine, and you're telling us you risked life and limb for us!?"

"Fine!?" Sakura shrieked. She held up her arms, shoving them into his face. The blood soaked bandages made his eyes widen. His rage had consumed him. He hadn't even noticed the wrappings. Now that he looked harder, he saw a blood soaked bandage wrapped around her forehead as well. "You call _this_ fine? Lee saved me and bandaged me after I fell unconscious from saving _your_ ass!" It was only partly true, but he wouldn't know. "So don't you _dare_ tell me that you know me, Uchiha Sasuke. Don't you _dare_ say that and accuse me of being a traitor."

Sasuke had a look that screamed 'oh shit'. "S-Sakura-" he started.

"No, forget it, Sasuke!" she yelled. There were tears of betrayal in her eyes. Her teammates had no faith in her.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said softly, but Sakura didn't hear him. She was upset. With her team, with _Sasuke_, and with herself. Not once, in this situation, did she blame Gaara; a fact she would have found odd had she thought about it.

"Alright-" a cough interrupted the announcement, "Everyone line up with their teams."

Sakura sighed and followed her teammates, standing next to them in the crowd of genin. "The next round of the chuunin exam is about to begin."

Sakura couldn't bring herself to pay attention. She saw a man with dark circles under his eyes standing and talking in front, accompanied by Anko, a few random jounin, and the Hokage himself. Obviously the event was more important than she thought if _he_ was here.

"You will face each other in this elimination round!"

That woke her up. "N-Nani?" she stuttered softly. She looked around. She didn't want to face her teammates. Lee's team was a year more experienced than her, so she'd prefer not to fight them. All of the other teams looked stronger than her…

She gulped. What would happen if she fought Gaara?

If she fought against him, he would defeat her easily, and punish her for going against him.

If she surrendered, it would be a blow to her personal strength. She would give him even more control over her being. Fate was cruel enough already. It wouldn't mind taking out more anger on her.

"Now, we are about to begin. Separate with your team on either balcony for the beginning of the matches."

Sakura felt a tug on her wrist, and turned to see Naruto's big blue eyes beckoning her along. She gave into his pull and followed him toward the grey steps, carefully glancing back in Gaara's direction. The sand nin glared at the blond who dared to touch what was his before walking up the opposite set of stairs. Upon reaching the balcony above the floor, Sakura's hands clenched onto the rail.

"Alright, let's call the first competitors."

The screen came to life, names scanning randomly, flashing from person to person so quickly that it was hard to tell one from another.

'_Please,'_ Sakura prayed, her grip tightening on the rail. _'Not me and Gaara…not me and Naruto…not me and Sasuke…"_ she gulped. _'Not Sasuke and Gaara…'_

The sound of the names changing on the screen stopped, and her eyes snapped up to see the results. Her large green orbs grew larger when she read the names on the screen. "No…" she gasped.

…

**Uchiha Sasuke**

**Vs**

**Temari**

…

"Hn."

Sakura turned. Sasuke's face was cold, even with the smirk gracing his features. "I was hoping for this match," he muttered, stepping toward the staircase.

"Sa-Sasuke-" Sakura started, but was cut off with his icy glare.

"Sakura," he hissed.

"Do _not._ Interfere."

Before Sakura could regain her voice, Sasuke disappeared down the staircase.

* * *

There, chapter 8, like I promised. Please review! Chapter 9 is being typed as you read, but you won't see it unless I get a decent amount of reviews! (hell, if this goes well, we can hope to make it to 400 by next chapter!)

Note: the scene where Sakura is taken from Suna will not come until much later, but when she left, she wasn't 'attacked'. I would use a different phrase, like...hmm, I dunno. Let's just say it was encouraged that she stay...


	9. Preliminaries :: part 2

Ok, you know how last chapter I said I was typing as you read?

I lied ;; (is shot)

Anyway, I actually sort of like this chapter, despite the outcome. Poor…uh…just read it. You'll see.

I was gonna hold this off until I got 9 more reviews and made it to 400…but I've got almost 200 people who would gang up and kill me, and they would be lead by a hot-tempered vampire Itachi-fangirl, so I'd rather keep my life – and soul – and update.

Umm, for those who care, here's an update on my life; school has started, and it kicks ass. I've got tons of friends...rephrase that. I've got lots of friends at my new school. I'm kinda sad that I've been missing out at my friends from the high school, but they update me on stuff eventually. I joined Anime Club, the homecoming parade rained out – not that I was gonna go – and I've been going to ever State High home game since school started. It's AWESOME! It's been a month and I love school. Isn't that weird?

The only problem is me giving a ten minute presentation on anime and manga next week… (sighs) oh well.

Yeah, I don't revise, so I'm sorry if the grammar/spelling sucks…

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't be here. And there would be more…flow-ey and consistent. God-damn, Kishimoto, God-damn…

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Reviews: 391 (400, people, let's get it to 400! JESUS)

Hits: 26425

Favs: 152

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Cherry Blossom's Heaven; Naruto Lovers; Sakura Heaven; Sakura Sakura and Sakura!; Sakura's Angels, Cherry Blossom's World; Silky Sand; Stories I read; and Stories.That.I.Read.

* * *

"Alright, the first round of the preliminaries is about to begin. Temari vs.-" the Jounin coughed, clearly sick, "Uchiha Sasuke."

The two nins stood in the middle of the arena. Temari stood in full confidence, her fan strapped to her back. She was smirking at the young Uchiha; sure she was going to win. Sasuke, on the other hand, was cold. He glared so hard at Temari that she almost froze. Pure hatred was pouring from him.

"Before we start, Temari said, her voice cocky, "let's make things interesting."

"I don't gamble," Sasuke spat.

Temari rolled her eyes. "At least see what's at stake before you agree or disagree"

Sasuke glared, before his gaze shifted behind her. "…only if I can choose my prize."

Temari didn't need to turn. She knew exactly what…or _who_…Sasuke was glaring at. "Look, kid…" she muttered, leaning in close to him. "That's not my decision to make. You want _me_ to stay away from her? Sure. Kankuro? Why not. Both of us? Possible. But Gaara…" She left the sentence hanging, but the message was received. Sasuke was left to assume that Gaara definitely wasn't _all_ talk.

"Obviously your prize would be for me to stay away from Sakura," Sasuke said after a moment. Temari nodded, so he continued. "So, you'll give this to me as a prize:

"You will tell me everything about Gaara and Sakura's 'relationship.'"

Temari sighed. Obviously she was having an inner conflict with this idea, but her dark eyes met his. Her eyes were colder, as if not all that willing to comply. "Alright," she said softly, reaching out her hand. Sasuke stared at it for a moment before taking it. They shook (Sasuke noticed her hand held a _little_ firmer than necessary), and continued to hold hands for a little afterwards. A smirk graced both of their faces.

"Good."

* * *

"What are they doing?" Sakura muttered. She saw Temari and Sasuke shake hands, both looking confident. 

"I believe," Kakashi said from behind, "that they're striking a deal."

Sakura turned to her sensei. The headband that usually fell over his eye lay straight across his forehead. The sharingan was glowing red, so similar to Sasuke's. It stared at the two nins as they took their places.

"About what?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi's gaze continued to stare forward. His face was completely serious. "I think, about you."

"N-Nani?" she stuttered. Suddenly, the sound of metal hitting metal drew her attention back to the arena. Sasuke had flung a kunai at Temari, who had moved her fan in front of herself for protection. _'It started!? Damn it!' _Sakura stared as her best friend and her guardian did battle. Neither one was willing to give in. Every time Sasuke ran to get into close combat, Temari would jump back and open her fan, sending a slicing wind toward the Uchiha. His sharingan wasn't on, which surprised Sakura. Ever since he'd activated his sharingan in Water country, Sasuke used it for every battle.

She was unable to ponder any longer, for darkness engulfed her. Grains of sand wrapped around her form, moving so fast that it seemed to disappear with Sakura. She squealed, taken by surprise, until the sand placed her firmly on the floor.

The only thing was that her sensei was on the _other_ balcony.

Painfully familiar arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her into their body. "Don't think," she heard Gaara's voice hiss, "that I'm letting you off the hook. Not you, and not that _Uchiha_."

Fear charged up her spine. The kiss…shit. "G-Gaara," she whimpered, seeing her sensei stare from across the arena. "Onegai, p-please, not now…"

She heard cries and grunts and the clash of metal from the arena. She was too afraid to move her eyes, though. She could only stare ahead as she felt Gaara's grip tighten around her waist. "Why," he murmured, catching her off guard. His voice wasn't blood thirsty, or possessive; it was almost…

Desperate…

"You love _me_," he continued. "You fight for _me_." His grip tightened, not in anger, but as if he were afraid to let go. "But you touched him. You fought for him, when you didn't fight for me. I gave you entrance here, and you thank me by showing your devotion to _him_."

His words sent chills down his spine, but they were ignored. She was more pre-occupied with the way Gaara's arms wrapped around her. There was nothing hostile about his hold; no bloodlust, no threat. She felt anger- no, it wasn't anger. She couldn't pinpoint it, but he felt…_upset._ The arms wrapped around her weren't threatening…

They were hugging.

They were _clinging_.

They were holding her as if she would disappear otherwise.

Almost like…

He _cared._

She leaned back into him as he buried his face in her back. For a moment, she could see the boy she knew, befriending her under the desert sun.

"_Ne, Sakura-chan?"_

_Sakura looked up. Gaara sat across from her, a light blush on his face – or was it sunburn? She couldn't tell. "Aren't you going to eat?"_

_The young rosette turned her attention back to her meal. Her nose crinkled up in disgust at the chewy brown substance. "What is it?"_

"_Gizzard and salted tongue."_

"What?_" she shrieked. Gaara winced. "That's disgusting!"_

"_Not really," he muttered._

"_Yes it is," she insisted. "You're eating this!" She opened her mouth wide, sticking her small pink tongue out of her mouth with an exaggerated gag._

_Gaara moved his gaze to the floor. His face pouted. "It's not like it's human tongue or anything," he muttered, trying his best to defend his meal._

"_Eww, how can you _like_ this?"_

"_It's my favorite food."_

_Sakura opened her mouth to retort, but the words sank in before she could. "O-Oh," she murmured, blushing furiously. "I-"_

"_It's okay."_

_Sakura looked back at her plate. Now she felt bad. If someone bashed her favorite food – strawberries, of course – she would feel bad, yet here she was mocking Gaara. She gulped and looked back at her plate. Slowly, she lifted her fork and stabbed it into the meal. She lifted it up to her mouth, clenching her eyes shut, and began placing it on her tongue. Equally as slowly, she began chewing the brown substance, the salty flavor washing over her mouth._

"_How is it?"_

_Sakura opened her eyes, covering her mouth to keep food from being spat out. Gaara had climbed onto the table, and was staring at her on his hands and knees. "It's good, right?" he insisted._

_Sakura avoided his gaze, trying to swallow. She forced it down her throat, scrunching her face. "It's…salty…"_

"_Yeah…?" Gaara pushed._

"_And…" she murmured, blushing. "Yeah…"_

"_Told you so!"_

_Sakura stuck her tongue out. "Don't you have strawberries or anything?"_

_Gaara cocked his head. "Strawberries?"_

_Sakura held her hands out, fingers positioned like an upside-down triangle. "Yeah, you know? They're red and juicy and have little seeds on the outsides." _

_Gaara shook his head. "We don't have anything like that."_

"_Are you sure?" Sakura insisted. _

_Gaara turned his gaze to the ceiling, looking deep in thought…or, really, as deep in thought as a six-year-old can get. "I could ask Yashamaru…"_

"_Really?" Sakura asked, hope rising in her voice._

_Gaara nodded. "Be right back," he said, sliding off the table and calling Yashamaru's name as he left._

_As soon as he was far enough away, Sakura slid off of her seat and ran in the opposite direction of the kitchen. She ducked and slid herself under the couch, curling up as small as she could. She let out a quick giggle._

"_He'll never find me," she whispered giddily. She wasn't to play hide 'n' seek, and Sakura – being the crafty little six-year-old that she was l- would play if she wanted._

"_Sorry, Sakura-chan," Gaara's voice echoed into the room. "Yashamaru says strawberries don't…" he trailed off, probably realizing Sakura wasn't there. "Sakura-chan?" Footsteps trailed around the table, and came into the room. "Sakura-chan?" he called, a little more desperately. He frantically looked around, running around to the other side of the couch. "Sakura-chan!" he cried, unable to find his pink-haired friend._

_Gaara's voice sounded desperate. Sakura sighed, deciding she should probably stop hiding. She pulled herself out from under the couch, only to realize she was stuck half-way through. She grunted, trying to pull the lower half of her body out from the couch. "Gaara-kun," she moaned, unable to free herself. Gaara, hearing her cry, ran around to the side she'd tried to escape from._

"_S-Sakura-chan?" he gasped. "Did the couch try and eat you?"_

"_No," Sakura grunted, still trying to claw her way out of the couch. "I was hiding."_

"_Hiding?" Gaara murmured. Sakura nodded, and Gaara looked away, a sad glint in his eyes. "From me, right?"_

"_M-hm!" she replied without thinking, then she looked closely at Gaara's face. She'd been expecting a look of mischief on his face, like on hers, but no mischief was found. "What's wrong?"_

"_You were hiding from me…" he muttered._

"…_Yeah," Sakura said, confused. "It's a game."_

_The place Gaara's eyebrows belonged shot up. "A…game?"_

"_Duh," she giggled. "Hide 'n' seek! You've never played before?" Gaara slowly shook his head. "_Really?_" she cried. _

_Gaara nodded this time. Tears threatened to spill out of his sea foam eyes. "Just…a game…" he muttered, reassuring himself. He looked back at the couch, his sand lifting the furniture from Sakura's form. He held out his hand for her and helped her to stand. However, before she could place both feet solidly on the ground, she was pulled into Gaara's arms. He buried his face in her soft, petal locks, trying to convince himself that she was there. Still there._

"_Don't…" he whispered. "Don't leave me…"_

"Don't leave me…"

"Gaara-kun," Sakura murmured. Once day. One day, she'd known Gaara. The innocent, polite child who would go to any limit to earn love from someone. For a moment – for _this_ moment – she could see him again.

She jumped in surprise, and fear settled in her stomach as Gaara's nails suddenly pierced her skin. The mark on her forehead burned, and she gasped, gritting her teeth.

"Don't leave me," the lonely request had been transformed. It became an order; a cold hiss chilling her form. "You will _never_ leave me."

"Gaara!"

Gaara and Sakura both turned their heads. Kankuro's hands were clinging to the rail, his knuckles white, and his eyes were wide open. "Temari…the Uchiha, he's…" he couldn't piece together his sentences. Gaara released his hold on Sakura and allowed her to look. She rushed to the rail, grasping it tightly to keep herself from flying off.

"Temari-san…" she murmured, taking in the fight. Sasuke was charging straight at Temari, scratches and bruises coating his skin. Temari was panting, and a kunai was lodged in her arm, blood coating the upper side of it. With the strength she still possessed, she lifted her fan – now showing three purple circles – and with a large cry, she swung it toward the Uchiha. The air rushed around the arena. Sasuke's arms didn't move to block the oncoming wind. Instead, his hand disappeared into his kunai pouch, grasping a weapon and pulling it in front of himself. With a sudden burst of energy, he sprinted forward so fast that he seemed to disappear all together.

Temari blinked, fear striking the bottom of her spine. She could sense him – right behind her. "Time to sing," she heard Sasuke hiss before pain crashed through her being. Sasuke thrust a kunai into Temari's back, being sure the blade dug in where her heart would be. Before she could react, Sasuke's food made contact with her back, sending her flying across the arena and crashing into the wall under Kakashi's balcony.

"Temari-san!" Sakura screamed as the wall cracked, and a cloud of dust surrounded the sand nin. She clutched the railing even tighter, turning her knuckles white. After a moment the dust cleared.

There was Temari, leaning awkwardly against the wall. Blood had begun to pool around her, and her eyes had fallen shut. "No…" Sakura whispered. "Temari-san…" her eyes clenched shut, tears on the verge of spilling.

'_No…she can't be…Temari-san…'_

"_Sakura-sama! Sakura-sama!"_

_Sakura looked up. A soccer ball was in her arms. "Nani?"_

"_What do you think you're doing?" Temari cried. Her face was smudged with dirt, and one of her ponytails had fallen out. She was a mess, and looked to be in a panic._

"_I'm looking for Gaara-kun!" Sakura replied. From a distance, people voices were drowning out her voice. The screams of panic and clashes of metal overwhelmed her, but Temari was luckily close enough to hear._

"_Are you _insane_!?!?" the blond shrieked. "Do you have any idea what's going on!?"_

_Sakura shook her head. "Gaara-kun said he'd play soccer with me, but he's late."_

"_Sakura-sama, Stone is invading!"_

"_What?" Sakura called. She couldn't hear. The voices were drawing closer, blocking her hearing._

_Temari cupped her hands around her mouth. "Stone is invading!" she called._

"What_!?" Sakura called again. The young rosette took the time to glance around. Civilians had started running frantically around, and shuriken were flying in every direction. She clutched the soccer ball closer to her form, her vision dashing back and forth. She could no longer see Temari, and panic attacked her._

"_Temari-san!" she called, unable to find the blond. "Temari- san!?" All of a sudden, she froze. A stone nin stood a few feet in front of her, smirking maniacally. He spun two shuriken around his fingers tauntingly before letting them fly toward her. She squeaked, clenching her eyes shut for protection._

_That was odd._

_There wasn't any pain._

_Sakura slowly cracked one eye open, but both eyes flew open wide at what she saw. Temari's hands were outstretched in front of her, blocking the shuriken. "Temari-san…" Sakura murmured as the girl dropped to her knees and then onto the ground. "Temari-san!" She dropped down to her side, letting go of the ball and shaking the blond. "No, get up!" Temari's eyes remained closed, bringing worried tears to Sakura's eyes. Sakura clenched her eyes shut, letting the tears fall._

"_Temari-san!"_

"Temari-san!" Sakura shrieked, flinging herself over the ledge. She landed clean on her feet, running forward. As she passed Sasuke, time seemed to freeze. He stared as his pink-haired teammate ran by, not even sparing a glance. As she passed, something seemed to snap. The invisible threat that bonded them together seemed to break, disconnecting them entirely. Sasuke's eyes widened. No. It couldn't happen. Sakura had pulled away.

He wanted to pull her back.

"Temari-san!" Sakura cried again, finally reaching the girl's side. She dropped down, gathering her upper body into her arms and turning her on her back. Blood dribbled from the corner of the girl's mouth, and her eyes were closed. "Wake up, Temari-san, please!" Sakura cried. Temari's eye lids twitched, and slowly they opened. Her dark orbs were glazed over with pain and exhaustion.

"Sakura-sama…" she choked out, coughing up more blood. "I…"

"I'm sorry…"

Temari's eyes fell shut once again, and her body went limp in her arms. The rising and falling of her chest slowed to a stop. "No…" Sakura whispered. "No…Temari, wake up!" She shook her again, but to no avail.

A hand warmly placed itself on her shoulder, and Sakura whipped her head around. Onyx eyes tried to pierce her soul, but her heated glare kept them from doing so. "Sakura-chan…" Sasuke whispered. "I…-"

"Shut up."

Sasuke stiffened. Sakura's voice was layered in ice. That wasn't supposed to be there. The Sakura he knew wouldn't sound like that. Her voice was supposed to be warm and inviting. When Sakura turned her head, he met something colder than her voice: her eyes. He was surprised the tears threatening to fall weren't frozen. "Sakura-"

"Shut up!"

Sasuke's grip tightened. Whether it was for Sakura's reassurance or his own, he wasn't sure. His opponent was a Sand nin whose defeat shouldn't have mattered. Why did it affect Sakura so much? If he had beaten Naruto, there would have been no tears. No sadness.

No _ice._

"Sakura," he repeated again, trying to make her listen. "I-"

"Shut _up!_" Sakura screamed, spinning around so fast that his grip was lost. It didn't matter, though, because only a moment later his hand flew up to catch her fist. Sasuke's other hand flew up to grab the leg thrown his way. He tugged on her leg, sending her toppling to the ground. She would've landed on the cold tiled floor if sand that had become familiar to both Sasuke _and _Sakura hadn't raced under her. It caught her gently, almost reassuringly, and pushed her back on her feet. As soon as she hit the ground, Sakura flew forward, racing toward Sasuke with anger burning in her eyes. _"You killed her_!" she shrieked, her fists flying ad her onyx-eyed teammate. "You killed her! You killed Temari!"

Sasuke blocked every punch that came his way, but he would never admit he had broken a sweat. She was a fierce opponent, and Sasuke felt her graze his body more than once. He didn't want to fight, but when he reached out to grab her wrist, the sand flew in front of his hand, preventing the contact.

"Sakura, you have to calm down!" Sasuke cried, trying to keep up with Sakura's attacks. After what seemed like an eternity, she began to tire. Sasuke caught the first flying at him, holding her in place. He was surprised the sand hadn't flown up this time. They both stood, panting, trying to regain their strength. "S-Sakura-"

Sasuke froze. He felt the familiar grains of sand begin crawling up his arm. He tried to let go of Sakura's fist, but the sand would have none of it. Its grip tightened to a painful degree. Sasuke watched as Sakura tightened her fist, raising it to a fighting position.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Sasuke hissed through his clenched teeth. "I'm your teammate." He growled, throwing Temari's form a glanced. "She's just a sand nin!"

Sakura's glare intensified. "I hate you."

That was the last thing Sasuke heard before Sakura's fist came in contact with his jaw.

* * *

In case anyone's confused as to why Sasuke's acting all PMS-ey…uh…lemme think…Well, he started going back to caring kuz…umm…it's kind of like a "you don't know what you have 'til it's gone" type thing. When she ran past him, it was like she was choosing them over him and he'd officially lost her…yeah. Shut up. 

Now click the pretty little purple/ blue button and review. Your reviews are the only thing keeping my inspiration alive!


	10. Preliminaries :: part 3

Mary: Hey everyone, I'm back…isn't that great lol :gets shot with tomatoes: …sorry…

K, fine, I lack excuse other than it took me for_ever_ to finish chapter 11, kuz I didn't want to update this filler chapter (I think it's filler, but whatever) by itself after not updating since September.

Here's a little lulzy thing: Setsucon is coming up soon! It's like 9 weeks away! OMG! I'll be going as Sasori on Saturday and Neji for half of Sunday (I'll be Suzumiya Haruhi for the second half) so if you're anywhere near, drop by and say hi XD the more the lulzier!

OH YEAH: I have a new fanfic called Sanity. It's original (an original Naruto fanfic plot, anyway), Sakura-centric, and it needs supporters to continue. SUPPORT, PLEASE:)

Disclaimer: Princess of Thieves does not own Naruto. If she did, THE JIRAIYA VS PEIN FIGHT WOULD BE NONEXISTANT (ZOMG SPOILERS D: )

* * *

_TenTen_

_Vs_

_Yoroi_

Sakura didn't even glance at the names on the board. She was staring at the door on the opposite end of the arena. That was the door the medics had carried Temari through. They'd laid her on her stomach; to be sure the kunai didn't bury itself deeper into her body. Gaara had had to pull Sakura away from the sand nin's motionless form.

"Sakura," he'd hissed, "do you remember why I gave you this?" A dull throb had pulsed through her forehead, causing her to freeze where she stood. "I told you to love only me and fight only for me. _Why did you fight for my sister?"_

Sakura had bitten her lip, unwilling to answer.

"You forehead bitch!" a cry had come from the stands. Sakura had looked up, somehow surprised to see none other than Yamanaka Ino glaring at her. "Why the hell did you beat up Sasuke-kun!? You bitch, how dare you lay a hand on him!"

Sakura had merely averted her gaze, unwilling to listen to the blond.

Ino had scoffed, throwing insults at her until she realized it had no effect on the rosette. At that time, the blond had smirked.

"You and your weak-ass boyfriend aren't even worth it."

Those words still echoed through her head. She'd had Gaara restraining her again, keeping her from using more of her strength.

The victor, TenTen, returned to her spot on the balcony, and Yoroi was escorted through the doors as Temari had been. The screen buzzed through the names once again, keeping every nin on edge.

_Kankuro_

_Vs_

That was as far as Sakura bothered to read. She turned to Kankuro, who was smirking and seemed ready to kick ass. "Al_right_," he drew out, pleased to be fighting.

Sakura gulped. "Ano…K-Kankuro-san…" she began, unable to put words to her worry. Kankuro's painted face turned to her, and upon seeing her worried eyes laid a hand on her head.

"Don't worry, Sakura-sama," he assured, a slightly cocky air flowing around him. "This guy's cake. I'll be back before long. Just don't get too personal while I'm done, 'kay?" With a wink to follow his last statement, Kankuro turned and headed for the stairs. Sakura's face brightened to the shade of a tomato.

From behind her, she could hear Gaara growl. "Kankuro," he warned.

Kankuro had obviously heard the message, for – without turning – he raised his hand into the air. "Aa," he called back, putting his arm back down.

Before long, familiar arms wrapped around her waist. Sakura bit her lip as a head was placed on hr shoulder.

'_This routine is getting a little old…'_

"Stop worrying."

Sakura didn't look at him, but she could feel his eyes practically freezing her under his icy gaze. "He is not your concern."

"Don't say that," she said softly, trying to sound as calm as possible. _'Temari-san…'_

Silence ensued after that, but it didn't last. Out of nowhere, Gaara's arms constricted around her, forcing the breath from her lungs. Sakura gasped, desperately trying to get her breath back. She grabbed his forearms, using all her power to try and loosen his grip but it only resulted in him tightening his hold.

"You love them," he hissed into her ear. He found sick satisfaction in her squirming against his form. Power seemed to wash through his veins like a drug. A shudder, almost unnoticeable, traveled through his body. His grip loosened, his mind focused on the feeling the contact brought him.

"Gah!"

Sakura gasped, hearing Kankuro's cry. From the balcony, she could see that his opponent had wrapped himself around the puppeteer – literally. Kankuro seemed to have trouble escaping…and breathing.

"Kankuro-san!" she cried, ripping herself from Gaara's grasp. She ran to the edge of the balcony, grasping the bar. "Hang in there, Kankuro-san!"

Too fast to register the action, Gaara grabbed Sakura's wrist, pulling her back and slamming her against the wall. The sand created a barrier around them, keeping all prying eyes away. She cried out in surprise, but only a squeak was audible as he slammed his lips onto hers. At once, her forehead burned, and she shrieked into his mouth in agony. His sand practically clawed into her skin, causing blood to pour down her face. She thought she heard Naruto's voice scream her name from outside, but she couldn't tell.

Just as she lost hope that the pain would end, the sand stopped tearing through her skin. His lips released hers, but immediately turned into a snarl. His hand clenched around her neck, successfully cutting off her air supply. Her hands grasped his, clawing at in, as tears mixed with blood on her cheeks.

"I gave you that for a reason," he hissed. "You are not to love anyone but _me_. Why do you love my _siblings_!?"

His grip tightened, and she clenched her eyes shut in pain. Softly, almost inaudibly, she let out a gasp with her last breath.

"D-Di…fferent…"

All at once, Sakura was dropped to the floor and air rushed into her lungs. Gasping, she looked back up after a moment, only to see Gaara's face barely an inch from hers. "How?" he hissed, putting a hand on the wall behind her. "How are they _different_?"

"I l-love…them," Sakura forced out between pants, "but d-differently…" She was pushing it, but she had no other choice. Temari and Kankuro were important to her, like siblings, and Gaara knew that. She _loved_ them as siblings, and Gaara knew that. She was winging it, praying that she could somehow calm his rage.

Gaara's glare intensified. "You either _love_ someone or you _don't_," he spat. "You can't love someone _differently_."

Sakura shook her head. "Iie…" she gulped. "I-I love Naruto as a friend, because we are teammates. I l-love Temari-san as an older sister and Kankuro-san as an older brother. Y-You can love someone because of a bond, and not because of total devotion…"

"…" Gaara was silent, staring at her. The places where his eyebrows would've been were knitted together, confusion racing through his eyes. He didn't know whether to be furious or…not…

"Oi, Gaara."

Kankuro's voice echoed through the sand, causing Gaara to growl. "What?" he threatened, his level of joy the exact opposite of Sakura's. She didn't dare call out his name, though.

"You know that in the time you've been in there, two matches have passed and another one's starting?"

"What of it?" Gaara growled again.

"Half of the contestants are gone. You'll probably be chosen relatively soon."

Gaara didn't move for a moment. Slowly – and reluctantly – he removed himself enough for him and Sakura to stand. The sand shifted and poured into his gourd. Sakura blinked, unused to the light. She cautiously moved her palm to her forehead, wiping the blood from her face and then onto her dress.

"Shikamaru is the victor," Hayate announced, catching Sakura by surprise. She looked over the bar, down toward the arena. Shikamaru had his shoulders and back hunched lazily, and across from him laid the sound nin that had attacked her earlier. A thrill ran through her body at the sight.

**Hah, take that, you bitch! Justice! **_**SHANNARO!**_

"Alright, the next battle is being chosen," came the next announcement, followed by a series of coughs. The sound of the names shifting on the screen again filled the room, sending a wave of tension through the area. Sakura bit her lip.

"…N-ne, Gaara-kun…" she murmured. His eyes shifted over to her in response. "If…what if _we_ had to…what would…" She couldn't piece a sentence together. Her hands clutched the rail again.

Gaara only kept his gaze on her for another moment. He blinked, averting his attention back to the screen. "You would surrender," he answered coolly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"What?" she cried. "But-"

"Sakura."

She cut off her sentence, recognizing his tone. She felt wisps of sand dancing across her neck. "If you fight me," he hissed, his voice raspy. "If you oppose me, I can't stop." The sand began digging into her neck, and she suddenly found it hard to breath. "I will _kill_you."

The names on the screen came to a halt.

Sakura's eyes darted to the screen, her whole body tensing.

…

_Haruno Sakura_

_Vs_

…

She stopped before she read the second name. She bit her lip harder than she'd meant to, causing blood to flow down to her chin. She took a breath, desperately trying to calm down her painfully tense body, and looked up again.

…

_Haruno Sakura_

_Vs_

_Yamanaka Ino_

…

It wasn't Gaara.

It wasn't Naruto.

It wasn't Lee.

So why didn't her body relax at _all_?

"Oh, thank _God_," Ino's voice echoed throughout the arena. "I was _worried_ for a minute there, but I guess it's only Forehead girl."

"_Ino!_" Shikamaru hissed, pulling the blond into a hunched-over position like himself, "is it in your _nature_ to be so troublesome?"

"Lay off, Shikamaru," Ino retorted, attempting to straighten up. "This is ca-"

"Will you _listen_, you troublesome woman?" he hissed again, pulling her back down. He lowered his voice. "Have you not noticed the guy Sakura has been playing 'pet' to? You saw what helping her did for Sasuke. Watch where you're treading, Ino, I doubt he's leaving her unprotect-"

"Oh, hush up," Ino rolled her eyes, pulling away from Shikamaru. "Besides, Gaara must be pretty weak if she thinks _Forehead_ is anything special."

From her side, Sakura could practically feel how much Gaara wanted to kill the blond. She joined in his feelings, allowing images of a dead Ino to fill her brain.

After a moment, she was pulled from her thoughts as Gaara's hand caressed her cheek. He turned her to face him and pulled her head closer. He swooped down, licking the blood from her lips and chin. "Fight for me."

Sakura's eyebrows shot up. "N-Nani?"

"Fight that girl," he repeated, sucking on her chin to transfer the semi-dried blood into his mouth. "Fight for me. Destroy the girl who thinks I am weak."

Sakura gulped. "H-Hai," she whispered, truly not wanting to fight the blond kunoichi.

"Will both contestants please report to the arena. Your match is about to begin."

Before Sakura could leave, Gaara's sand scooped her up, lowering her to the arena. Ino jumped from the balcony, walking forward until she was in front of her.

"Are both of you ready?"

Sakura nodded, while Ino smirked. "Just start already," she told him.

Hayate nodded, raising his hand into the air. "The match is about to start, Haruno Sakura vs Yamanaka Ino."

"Go Sakura-chan!" Naruto's voice screamed.

Hayate gave them both one last look before lowering his arm.

"Begin."


	11. Preliminaries :: part 4

Here's the second part of the update  Be happy, ok?

…and please review both chapters :begs: just so that I can get my numbers up there lol.

About Sakura's reaction time (as you'll see) I figured that it was something that couldn't be trained as sensually as the jutsu from a couple chapters back. I just threw this flashback in off a whim…enjoy.

And remember: READ SANITY!

Disclaimer: Princess of Thieves does not own Naruto…:sniff:

* * *

Ino flew forward, her fist pulled back to punch her target. Sakura ducked her punch and crouched on the floor. She stretched her leg out, swinging it around her, and kicked Ino's legs out from under her. Ino cried out as she landed on her butt and Sakura jumped back.

"Tch, nice move, Forehead," the blonde spat, pushing herself up. "I didn't think your reaction time was that good."

"Like I had a choice," Sakura muttered to herself.

"_Not fast enough."_

_Sakura was pushed to the ground as sand was blasted against her arm. She'd failed to dodge Gaara's attacks _again_. Her arms and face were covered in cuts, and her body was probably bruised under her clothing. She pushed her beaten body up, her eyes glazed with exhaustion._

"_Do it again."_

_Her eyes widened as Gaara smirked, and she began ducking and dodging blasts of sand once again._

Sakura ducked as Ino's fist flew toward her again. She grabbed her wrist, using the blonde's momentum to pull her forward. As planned, Ino fell; but she flipped in the process and landed crouched on her feet.

"Enough games," Sakura told her, sliding into a fighting position. "If you're going to fight, _fight_."

Ino's teeth clenched and she stood. Blue clashed with green as the tension exploded around them. A silent trigger was pulled, and the two flew forward toward each other. For every punch and kick thrown, there was an arm to block it. Sakura kept her arms near her face, brushing off every attempt made at her. She faked a back hand to Ino's face, and as the blonde's guard rose to her head, she thrust her fist into her stomach.

Ino gagged, coughing up blood. The rosette smirked.

Advantage Sakura.

Sakura's fists continued to fly to Ino's body. Each punch landed, shocking her body further and opening her for another shot. Gaara watched unemotionally as she struck the blond over and over. He was unimpressed. Sakura's worst area was taijutsu, but she was using it to try and beat her opponent. His eyes narrowed. There were other ways. Faster ways. There were jutsus that could leave the blonde screaming, _writhing_ in pain. Ninjutsu that could slice her skin from her bones, blood staining the flow, red liquid flying and dripping from Sakura's face and –

Gaara shuttered, a pulse of pain shooting through his head. His sand shifted eagerly inside of his gourd at the thoughts flowing through his mind. It shifted more as he watched Sakura's leg raise and kick Ino onto the floor. The blond slid back, the blood from her mouth flying into Sakura's hair. Her back slammed into the wall, her head falling forward.

'_She's unconscious_,' Sakura mentally sighed, turning to Gaara. His eyes stared, unfocused in her direction. He could see a small amount of blood dripping from her pastel locks, and he shuddered again. Sakura then turned to Hayate, who nodded and raised his arm into the air. "The winner of this match is – "

"_MIND BODY SWITCH JUTSU!"_

Sakura's head whipped around, her eyes widening. Ino's hands forming a bird seal was the last thing she saw before the world around her turned black.

* * *

No one moved. Everyone stared as Sakura's body became motionless. Gaara tensed, glaring at the blond kunoichi's hands as they fell to her sides. _'Sneaky…'_ he thought to himself. He locked back at Sakura, trying to drill into her mind with his eyes. Something was wrong.

Slowly, Sakura's face lifted. Her emerald eyes opened, and she raised her arms above her head. A smirk crossed her face, and Gaara's eyes narrowed.

"I, Haruno Sakura…" she called out, causing Gaara's glare to intensify. The kunoichi had taken over her body. The blonde girl had _tainted_ his flower. "will – "

"NO! _SAKURA-CHAN!"_

All heads turned to the owner of the voice. "Don't lose to that bimbo!" Naruto cried. "You're better than that!"

"Geez, you're so noisy," the kunoichi muttered. All of a sudden, the girl froze, and everyone stared at her once again. She shakily brought her hands to her head, burying her fingers into her hair. "S-Stop…" she cried, clenching her eyes shut in pain. "No! _Stop it!"_

* * *

"Get away from me you crazy bitch!"

_Crash_

Ino dove out of the way as a giant foot came down where she once stood. Ino looked up at the giant figure, who took the appearance of a _humungous_ Sakura. She was furious at the blonde, and roared in anger as she ran away. She bent down, wrapping her oversized fingers around Ino and lifted her to her face. Ino squirmed as the pressure around her nearly crushed her bones and she cried out. "Put me down!"

She thrashed around, desperately trying to free her arms so that she could make a release seal. The giant Sakura's grasp was too tight, though. "Lemme go!"

"You're not getting off that easy," the Sakura's voice rumbled. Her hand tightened around the blond, causing Ino to gasp and cry out in pain.

"T-The hell is y-your_problem…" _Ino wheezed out.

"My problem is _you,"_the Sakura growled.

"Let me go…I'll get out of your…_head_…"

"That won't solve anything."

One blue eye cracked open, the others clenched shut, to stare in confusion at her opponent. Now that she was close, she could vaguely make out the characters etched onto the giant girl's forehead.

'_Inner Sakura…'_

"It's all your fault! _Everything is your fault!_" Inner Sakura cried, flinging Ino in the front of her. She gasped for breath, holding herself to numb away the shock of landing. "That day in the park, it started everything!" Inner Sakura screamed. Slowly, her form shrunk from its enormous size. "It's _your_ fault I sent to Suna." She stood before Ino, normal-sized, and lowered herself on one knee. "It's your fault my parents died." She grasped Ino's golden hair, pulling her up to eye-level. "It's your fault…"

"It's _your_ fault I met _Gaara."_

Out of nowhere, images poured into Ino's mind. She couldn't focus on Inner Sakura anymore. Only the flashes of light dancing across her vision. She didn't know what was going on; the images moved too fast for her to keep track. After a moment, the images began to slow, and Ino could make out some things. Violet eyes, a soccer ball, a couch –

"_I will not be alone anymore!"_

Ino shrieked. Eyes that could give nightmares, full of hatred and bloodlust, sent ice pouring through her body. The unexplainable ache in her wrists caused tears to stream as she thought they would break. Both, however, were only a _fraction_ of the pain she felt in her forehead. It was as if a thousand tiny knives were carving into her face.

"_WHAT THE HELL!"_ she screamed to the frightening Inner Sakura.

"The day we met, you cracked me, Ino," Inner Sakura cackled. "Bringing me to Suna was the solution my parents had, but you made them bring me to _hell_."

"_You're lying."_

Ino shrieked once again. Every ounce of pain Sakura had been through, Ino _felt_. Every glare, every bite, every grain of sand digging into her skin.

"You call me a weak bitch, Ino," Inner Sakura continued. "You say I'm useless. You think I'm the lowest of the low, but I have been through things that even now, as you endure my pain, you can _never_ understand!"

Ino thrashed, trying to rid herself of whatever jutsu she could be under, but it did no good. Her cheek stung from a slap Sakura had received, her arms were on the edge of breaking…but oh _God_, her forehead! It was ten-fold the pain of the rest of her body combined!

Ino sobbed. She pleaded, _begged_ for the pain to stop, but it continued to pelt her relentlessly. Painful images filled her mind, things she didn't think _any_ child could stand. How had weak little forehead girl…_lived?_

"_Love only me!"_

"_Stop, it hurts!"_

"_Their blood is my blood…"_

"_We are in your debt."_

"_You don't owe me anything!"_

"_If she is hurt under your watch, _I'll kill you_."_

"_Sakura, your parents are dead._

"_I am all you have. You _need_ me."_

"_Stone is invading!"_

"_Temari-san!"_

"Let go of her!_"_

"_Hold on, don't let go!"_

"_Give her _back_!"_

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_Poor kid…"_

"_Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke."_

"_Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke."_

"_I hate sand, and…monsters…"_

"_You are not to speak to him alone."_

"_Sorry, Lee-san, I…I can't…"_

"_I hate it."_

"_I love you, Gaara-kun!"_

"_You'll tell us_everything_."_

"_Why won't you tell me anything anymore, Sakura!"_

"_Fixing a mistake."_

"_I'll kill him!"_

"_You traitor!"_

"_Sakura…_

Don't interfere._"_

* * *

"_IIE!!"_

Everyone stared as Sakura clutched her head in agony. Her body shook, her knees gave out, and her screams echoed throughout the area. She painfully pulled her hands from her scalp and crashed them together in a snake sign. "Kai!"

Sakura's body fell limp. Ino's body jolted as her soul returned. She clenched her teeth and eyes, still in agony, before her head dropped and her body fell limp as well. Neither girl moved for what seemed like an eternity, and Hayate sighed. However, just as he raised his arm to end the match, Sakura shifted. Hayate froze, staring as the rosette slowly pushed herself up, sitting on her legs, and opened her eyes. Her green orbs were clouded with confusion as she looked at Ino and back at Hayate.

He motioned toward Ino. "You remember doing that, right?"

Sakura's eyebrows scrunched together. "Of course.."

Hayate nodded, finally raising his arm. "The winner of this match…" he lowered his arm toward her, "is Haruno Sakura."

Sakura sighed in relief as she slowly pushed herself up. She saw Naruto jump over the edge and run toward her, trying to help her balance as she stood. "Sakura-chan, you alright?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I…" she shook her head, trying to rid herself of the haze set into her mind. "Ah, my _head_…"

From the corner of her eye, she could see Ino being lifted onto a stretcher with her sensei Asuma at her side. She jumped a little as the blonde's hand reached out, grasping Asuma's arm as she whispered something to him. He nodded, turning to Sakura and motioning for her to come. Uneasy, she nodded and walked to Ino's stretcher, wincing when she saw the damage she'd dealt.

"Su…" Ino whispered, but was interrupted as she coughed, blood splattering onto Sakura's cheek. She winced. "Sumima…sen…"

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "For what?" she softly demanded. _'What happened when I was unconscious…?'_

Ino laughed softly, her eyes glazed with pain. "You know, Forehead…" she forced out, "when we were little…"

"What? You hated me for slapping you? You wanted nothing to do with me?"

"Iie…I…

"I wanted to be your friend…"

Sakura's eyes widened. Her breathing stopped. She stared in disbelief as Ino smiled up at her. Suddenly, Ino's eyes clenched shut, and she writhed in pain, crying out in agony. The medics nodded and rushed out of the arena.

Sakura began shaking. She clutched her stomach as a sudden wave of nausea hit her.

'_My…friend…I…pushed her away…'_

"Sakura-chan, you okay?" Naruto asked, rushing over to her. Her skin turned clammy, and she slammed a hand over her mouth in desperation to try and keep her breakfast inside of her body.

'_I…ruined…the chance with her…_

'_If…I hadn't slapped her…I would've stayed in Konoha…_

'_I never would have met Gaara…_

'_**This mark would not be on my forehead.'**_

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto repeated, placing a hand on her shoulder. Sakura jolted, shoving Naruto away from her and collapsing to her knees, emptying the contents of her stomach onto the floor.

She heard multiple figures around her, fussing as she began to dry heave. She saw orange as she felt herself being lifted. "Iie, I'm fine, she mumbled, trying to move out of Naruto's grasp. She was a little dizzy from vomiting, and probably dehydrated from the exam. The shock of Ino's announcement must have triggered her body's reaction.

She wasn't surprised when she felt Gaara's sand lifted from Naruto's grasp. She heard the blonde's cry of protest as she was brought to Gaara's side. A cold hand placed itself on her forehead, sending a cool sensation over her face. That was all it took for her to give up her consciousness.

* * *

There, happy? Review, please! 


	12. Preliminaries :: part 5

(gets stuff thrown at her) I know, I _KNOW!_ Look, I'm sorry the chapter's so late and I'm sorry that it's so short, but believe it or not filler chapters ARE necessary for me!! This just gets us from the end of Ino and Sakura's fight to the beginning of Gaara and Lee's fight. I don't like skipping from Sakura blacking out to her waking up if there are more characters to tell the story.

Anyway, here's a late happy birthday to Gaara!

K, the updates about me that no one cares about, and there are only two: One, my birthday was on the ninth and I'm now 15 (yippee says my sarcastic enthusiasm). Two, Setsucon is on Saturday, and OH MY GOD. Is anybody going? Will you come? Look it up and give me a hug XD.

So don't kill me, I know this is short as hell but I just wanted to let you know I'm not dead (and prevent my evil twin from killing me…I'm not exaggerating, people, I have one, she's a vampire, and she'll eat me.

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!

* * *

There were times when the weak would try to push and kick and throw themselves into a situation that was utterly stupid. Gaara almost found himself amused when he was there to witness such a time.

This time, however, he found himself wanting to kill the weakling.

"Let _go_ of me, Kakashi-sensei!"

Naruto thrashed in Kakashi's grip. He had to get her…he had to rip his Sakura-chan from that monster's disgusting grip. He'd had it. _"Let go!"_

"Naruto, calm down!" Kakashi hissed.

"No!"

Naruto heard footsteps rushing toward him, and soon felt the arms and bodies of the other senseis restraining him as well. "Back off," he growled before turning his attention to Gaara. "Let go of her, Gaara!"

Gaara glared, his sand tightening its grip on Sakura and pulling her closer to him. He turned his attention to her, his hand combing through her matted pink hair. His eyes darkened as Naruto's screams echoed through his mind. How dare he…

"_I love Naruto as a friend, because we are teammates."_

His hand tightened around a lock of pink hair.

"_I love Temari-san as an older sister, and Kankuro-san as an older brother…"_

A growl escaped his throat. His sand tightened a little more, causing an unconscious gasp for breath to come from Sakura.

She was only to love_him. Why,_ then, were there so many other people graced with her affection?

His siblings, he supposed, were not his biggest concern. Although they held some of her affection, they knew their mission. They knew their boundaries. They knew their place.

The blond across from him, however, did not.

"Alright, _alright_ already!" Naruto screamed, pulling his arms from the Jounins' grips. He stood still, blue eyes icy cold as he glared at Gaara. "Let. Her. Go."

Gaara glared back, a sick grin twisting on his face. It sent shivers down everyone's spine. "No."

Naruto snarled in retort. Before the Jounin could react, Naruto raced forward. "Gaara!"

A green blur raced in front of him, causing him to skid to a stop.

"Naruto, calm down," Lee ordered. "You will be disqualified! Wait for your match before you fight."

"Back off!" Naruto spat. His hands were clenched into fists, his eyes glaring at Gaara. Since he'd shown up; everything Sakura did seemed cautious and tense. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before. How she tried to distance herself from them, how every contact made her jump, how she seemed to shrink away from everything…

He clenched his hands tighter. How couldn't he see how much he'd hurt her?

His eyes fell to the blood soaked bandages on her arms. There was a spot where the wrappings were loose, and her skin could be seen. Lee looked back at him and, seeing the intense stare the blond had, followed his gaze. Tiny dark red bumps coated her arm, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Neji-san," he called. He heard his teammate's feet land, and a grunt of acknowledgement. "Please look at Sakura-san's arm."

Neji rolled his eyes. "Honestly," he muttered in his annoyed tone, but he saw no harm. Chakra seeped into his eyes as he stared at the bandages. He examined the girl's arm for a moment. It looked slightly like a rash, but the color was too dark. Too rough. His eyes widened slightly.

"It's…" he murmured, trailing off. Every tiny spot…they were practically speckled…they looked so small…

The size of a grain of sand…

"Neji-san?" Lee called.

Neji's eyes widened slightly, piecing the puzzle together. He stared at Sakura's arm, then at the sand holding her. Then at Gaara.

"Scabs," he murmured, catching Lee's attention. Naruto turned to him as well.

"N-Nani?"

"If I'm correct – which I am," he added under his breath, "I believe her arms are coated with scabs, given to her by his –" he nodded toward Gaara, "– sand."

Naruto gaped, as did Lee. Both stared in disbelief at Gaara, who had pulled Sakura into his arms and tightly against his body. The blond boy growled, his nails cutting into his palms. "You…" he growled, his anger rising by the second. He stepped forward, making all of the Jounin tense. "_YOU __**BASTARD**_!"

"You nearly killed her!" Lee shouted at him. This caused the rest of the Jounin – especially Kakashi – to pay closer attention. "She would have bled to death if my team had not arrived!"

"What I do to her is none of your business," Gaara growled lowly. How dare they…

"Anything that hurts my youthful blossom _is_ my business!"

The air became thick all of a sudden. "Yours…?" Gaara growled again. His voice sounded much more menacing than before, but Lee ignored it.

"Sakura-san is the love of my life!" Lee continued. "I will not let you hurt her any longer!"

Sand began creeping toward the green-clothed boy. More than anything right now, Gaara wanted to see this boy die. To see his chest cease to rise, to see his limbs sticking out at odd angles. But more than anything, his_blood_. His blood splattered on the floor and the walls and his face and Sakura's hair. His own blood began to boil at the ever-pleasing image. A shudder racked his body.

Oh yes…

This boy would die.

"_Ahem."_ Everyone turned to Hayate, who had thrown himself into a small coughing fit. "We should move on to the next match. Please return to the balconies so that we may continue."

Gaara stood still, glaring coldly at Lee who stared confidently back. After a moment, his sand shifted and whisked him and Sakura back to the balcony. The Konoha genin followed their senseis back to the other balcony.

"The next battle is about to begin," Hayate called as the screen came to life once again.

* * *

_**Uzumaki Naruto**_

_**Vs**_

_**Inuzuka Kiba**_

"_I'm gonna be hokage!"_

"_I'm the top dog around here!"_

"_No, Akamaru!"_

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!"_

"_Gatsuuga!"_

"_Aww man, nasty!"_

"_U-ZU-MA-KI!"_

"_Uzumaki Naruto."_

* * *

_**Hyuuga Hinata**_

_**Vs**_

_**Hyuuga Neji**_

"_Just give up."_

"_I saw that."_

"_Byakugan!"_

"Hah_!"_

"_Gentle Fist!"_

"_You can do it, Hinata!"_

"_I am strong!"_

"_Hyuuga Neji."_

* * *

_Gaara_

_Vs_

_Rock Lee_

"Yosh!!!" Lee's voice echoed throughout the arena as he kicked his leg into the air. "It worked! I said I wanted to be last and I was next!"

Kankuro rolled his eyes as Lee began punching the air in joy. "Loser," he muttered, turning to face Gaara. He opened his mouth to ask about his plan, but fell silent as he saw Gaara's state. The redhead was shaking; shuddering as his imagination pictured a morbid picture of Rock Lee. There would be blood…so much blood…

And Sakura's face would drip with it as his bloody hands would brush her cheeks…

He couldn't handle it. The fight needed to start now.

"Kankuro," he hissed, "take Sakura." The sand lifted the rosette from his arms and placed her in Kankuro's. His sand swirled around him, making him disappear and re-appear in the arena. His eyes glared up at Lee, silently daring him to come down.

Lee took that dare as he swung himself over the edge, landing swiftly on his feet and falling back into a fighting stance. "I am ready," he declared, as confident as ever.

Hayate nodded, raising his hand into the air. "The ninth match is about to begin! Rock Lee vs Gaara."

Kankuro smirked at the spandex-clad boy. The kid didn't stand a chance. Gaara was_invincible_.

Feeling the figure in his arms shift, Kankuro glanced down at Sakura. Her face was troubled, eyebrows knitted together in discomfort. He sensed her breathing slightly pick up, and he sighed in pity. Even in sleep, Sakura-sama was never truly at peace.

He turned his attention back to the arena just as Hayate lowered his hand. "Begin."

* * *

Ok, one: I wanted the characters to find out that GAARA WAS HURTING HER. I'll use it later, I think. Two, I fast-forwarded through the fights instead of skipping them entirely. Deal with it and I'll try and fit in a good chapter next time (It'll be good, I promise, I've planned it. Here's some unimportant spoilers: It'll be the end of me writing the preliminaries, and the end of Lee's battle. See? Unimportant!)

Review, please! Usually I'm looking for about 50 or more reviews per chapter, but since it's short I'll accept 40 before I start writing again.


	13. Preliminaries :: part 6

I finally got this done, JESUS. This is longer than my other chapters, so that I wouldn't get killed for this: **Desert Flower is going on hiatus**

(gets stuff thrown at her) HEY HEY HEY!! It's only for a couple months, guys. My excuses are these:

One, this story takes up a ton of my time. I was writing this when I should've been taking notes in science and now I have to waste my at-home time to take notes.

Two, I need to focus on other stories. I need to brainstorm for Sanity (please read it, guys, seriously, you'll like it…and I need ideas lol). Also, I started keeping a notebook of fanfic ideas, and I've gotten up to about 30 of them, and I'd like to start some.

Three, the end of this chapter was…unexpected. It was on a whim, but I like it…the only thing is that now I have to figure out how to continue with it…

Anyway, please enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me, sadly enough.

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* * *

_The night was still. At least, she assumed it was still. The room was thick with tension as a brush ran through her damp pink hair. She big her lip as it tugged relentlessly through the tangles and knots she couldn't get out herself._

"_You're so useless," she heard Gaara mutter softly. She didn't reply, only tensing when the bristles hit a particularly large knot. She could practically see Gaara frown, the skin above his eyes scrunching together. She felt the boy's hand grip her head, tightly clutching locks of pink between his fingers, and the brush pulled sharply downward. She yelped, her hands immediately flying up to cover her mouth. Every harsh tug caused another muffled squeak to pop out of her throat._

"_**Kazekage-sama, I have informed you of the reason for my arrival," the Hokage's voice echoed through the Kazekage's war room. A squad of ANBU stood ready behind him, the eyes of their masks blank and free of emotion. "You failed to inform Konoha of the death of our two shinobi, and worse yet, you have kept a citizen of Konoha captive in your city." His old, worn eyes somehow maintained the ferocity of his youth as he glared demandingly at the Kazekage. "Return my citizen. Our treaty is at stake."**_

"Temari_!"_

_Sakura winced as Gaara's raspy voice shouted. She heard the hurried footsteps that she knew belonged to the blond echoing through the hallway. Temari almost flew into the room, grabbing onto the doorframe to keep herself from doing so. "H-hai?" she panted. Sakura noticed that one of her pigtails wasn't in, like she'd been interrupted from her nightly ritual._

_Gaara tossed the brush to his sister, catching her off guard. As it hit her hands, she fumbled with it before it dropped to the ground. She winced under Gaara's cold glare and quickly picked up the brush. "There's a knot," he snapped, tugging the chunk of hair like it wasn't attached to her head. Sakura cried out in surprise again. She looked up pleadingly at Temari, and saw something flicker in her eyes._

_Whatever impulse Temari had gotten, she didn't follow it. "H-Hai," she stuttered, running up to Sakura and dropping to her knees. She began running the brush through the girl's hair, gently working out the knot from the bottom up._

"_**I am sorry, Hokage-sama," the Kazekage's voice boomed, "but I am unable to return Haruno Sakura to Konoha under the current circumstances."**_

_**The Hokage sighed in disappointment. "Well then," the Sandaime announced solemnly. His hand reached back for a kunai. The Sand nins in the room tensed. "I suppose this means our treaty is over."**_

"_**Yes," the Kazekage replied, raising his hand. The Konoha ANBU tensed as well. "I suppose it does."**_

_**The Kazekage flicked his wrist.**_

_**The Suna nins sprung.**_

_The brush worked through the last of the knot, running through the area a few more times. Sakura sniffed, wiping the remaining tears from her face. She flinched as Temari brushed through the rest of her hair._

"_There," she said, the fake happiness obvious in her voice. "All smooth and pretty, ne?"_

_Gaara growled, and Sakura winced but for once, Temari ignored it. The blond turned the rosette to face her and pulled her into a hug. Sakura froze. Neither Temari nor Kankuro had _dared_ to hug her with so much feeling, so much love. _Especially_ in front of Gaara._

"_Temari," Gaara hissed, "get out." Sand began to shifting with his anger, but Temari ignored him again. She slowly pulled away far enough to see her face. Out of nowhere, her lips pressed lovingly against her forehead. Time froze as the two girls remained in place. Sakura's eyes widened. What was she doing!?! Didn't she know what today was!?!_

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?! **GET AWAY FROM HER!**"

_Temari was ripped from the rosette and thrown at the wall, slamming into it so hard it hurt to watch. Sakura cried out her name, but was wrenched back, tumbling behind Gaara. She lifted her head, but was blinded by the whirlwind of sand swirling around the room._

"DON'T TOUCH HER! **DON'T TOUCH HER! **SHE'S **MINE**! SHE ONLY LOVES **ME**, NOT YOU! GET AWAY!"

_Sakura did the only thing she could. She sobbed. She bawled as the sand tore at Temari, slamming her into the walls and cutting into her skin._

_Today was exactly two years after she met Gaara._

_Today was exactly two years after she received the mark on her forehead._

_Today was exactly two years after Yashamaru's death._

_Of all the days to anger Gaara, she had done it on the one day he would be __most__unstable._

_Temari screamed in pain as she hit the door and Sakura choked on a sob. She couldn't take it anymore. She slowly pushed herself up, ignoring the sandstorm ripping apart the room. She stumbled as the wind tried to push her down, and she threw herself against Gaara's back. Her hands wrapped around his waist and her face was buried in his back._

_She left Gaara stiffen, and the whirlwind came to a screeching halt. The sand scattered on the ground, sounding like the rain she missed so terribly much._

_For a moment, it was dead silent in the room._

_And that's when they heard it. The wailing of the siren, alerting all of Suna of the invasion of an enemy village. "G-Gaara-kun..." she whispered, clinging closer to him._

Crash

_Sakura screamed as a figure crashed through the window. Gaara's sand flew up to block the glass shards flying at them. She felt her shoulder being grabbed and she was flung back behind Gaara, landing painfully on her rear. Gaara growled at the intruder. __**"Get. Out."**_

_The figure didn't show any signs of intimidation. In fact, their masked face was staring _past_ Gaara._

_Straight at her._

_More nins came into the room, headed for Gaara. Sakura screamed as they retrieved kunai and launched them at the redhead. Of course, the sand blocked them, but it didn't calm her. The masked nins continued distracting him as the original nin quickly made his way toward her. She opened her mouth to scream, but the nin placed a finger on her lips, silencing her. His other hand grasped his ANBU mask and moved it to the other side of his face. He revealed two eyes – one black, one a frightening crimson color – and a masked nose and mouth._

"_Haruno Sakura," he confirmed, catching her by surprise. Seeing the recognition of her own name flash in her green eyes, he moved his mask back over his face and scooped her into his arms. She didn't struggle in the strange nin's grasp. She had seen the symbol engraved on the man's mask._

_The symbol for Konoha._

_Relief flooded through her, an emotion she hadn't felt this strongly at any point in her life. She felt the man stand and head for the window._

"**NO!"**

_Sakura shrieked as sand grabbed her arm, tightening to a bruising point. Both she and the nin looked back at Gaara. One of his hands was buried in his hair, trying to claw out the pain. His sand gripped the arms of the shinobi, keeping them in place. His teeth were bared and clenched together, half of his mouth filled wit sharp, pointy fangs. And his eyes…oh Kami, his eyes…they were a cold, hard amber, like those of an animal's._

_A demon's._

_A _monster's.

_The sand tugged hard against her arm and wrapped around her leg as well. Sakura screamed as the sand's grip tightened. The Konoha nin pulled her closer, trying to rescue her from the sand's grasp. _

"**LET GO OF HER!"**_Gaara screamed, but Sakura was not released. The sand continued to tighten, and Sakura sobbed._

"_Hang on," she heard the masked nin murmur into her ear. "Don't let go." The words washed over Sakura. They were said with the kindest voice she'd heard in years. Gaara was cold, Temari and Kankuro were afraid, and the village hated and feared her as Gaara's 'pet'. This man's voice was the first true comfort in two years._

"**LET…"**

_The sand pulled harder._

"**HER…"**

_Sakura looked up at the masked nin pleadingly._

"**GO!!!!"**

Crack

_Sakura screamed._

_No, not screamed…she_shrieked

_The white-hot pain shot through her body like a bolt of lightning, and her eyes clenched shut in attempt to block it out._

_Gaara's eyes widened, returning to their icy blue color. He'd _felt_ Sakura's bones crack through the sand. He'd _felt_ Sakura's bones shatter under the pressure. He found a sick satisfaction in the feeling until her shriek reached his eardrums and he saw her face clouded in pain._

_He hadn't seen her in that much pain since…_

"_S-Sakura-chan…" he murmured, his voice hollow and lost. His sand fell to the ground as he stared at the rosette. Before he had realized it, the nins had jumped out of the window again._

_With Sakura._

_Gaara dropped to his knees and then to his hands. Gone…she was gone…_

_His breath became ragged. No…she couldn't be gone…his hands clenched into fists, his shoulders shaking in his anger. His eyes whipped open, once again an icy gold._

"**SSSSAAAAAAKKKUUUUUURRRAAAAAAA!"**

* * *

"No!"

Kankuro jumped in surprise at the soft, breathy outburst. His head whipped down, seeing Sakura's wide green eyes open and filled with fear. She'd had a nightmare.

"Sakura-sama?" he asked cautiously. Her head abruptly turned to Kankuro, her fear fading out of her eyes when she realized where – and when – she was.

"Kankuro-san," she sighed in relief.

Kankuro nodded, and slowly lowered her feet to the ground. Sakura pushed herself out of his arms, but soon grabbed his shoulder to balance herself. She was still worn out from the entire exam.

"Kankuro-san, h-how long was I out? Who fought?" she murmured, clutching her head.

"Hmm…well…" Kankuro muttered, "your teammate won to the dog kid…" Sakuira nodded, smiling slightly, "the two Hyuugas fought and the guy won…"

"Gate of closing,_open!!!"_

Sakura's eyes widened and her head snapped toward the arena. She pushed herself from Kankuro and flew toward the rail. She almost threw herself over the sides, but she stared in disbelief at the battle.

Sand was everywhere.

There were two huge craters in the ground.

Lee had energy bursting from his body.

The computer glared at her with two names she knew would make a blood bath of a match.

_-_

_Gaara_

_Vs_

_Rock Lee_

_-_

"No way…" Sakura whispered. "No, this can't be happening…"

Gaara had never met someone who showered her with so much affection. Almost everyone else who cared for her seemed to know their place under Gaara's power.

Gaara was like the alpha wolf, and she – though she grimaced at the thought – was like his mate. Temari and Kankuro were like the beta wolves, protecting her from other alphas and caring for her, but knowing that the alpha could easily dispose of them.

Lee was like a lone wolf who was determined to take Sakura as his own mate.

This wasn't just a matter of pride, or moving on in the Chuunin Exams.

It was practically a battle for _her_.

Sakura focused her vision back on the fight and jumped in surprise. Both Gaara and Lee were lying on the ground. Lee, she wasn't as surprised by, but_Gaara_ was on his back.

"Kankuro?" she choked out, "what the hell just happened?"

Kankuro blinked in disbelief and turned to her. "Weren't you watching?" When she shook her head, he gaped. "You _missed_ it? Gaara just got the _snot_ kicked out of him!"

Sakura stared at him as the words sunk in before letting out a nervous laugh. "K-Kankuro-san," she stuttered, "th-that's not possible…you know that…"

"Take a good look," he murmured, still in shock from the battle.

Sakura looked back at the battle. Although her entire person denied it, she knew. "Lee…_hurt_ him…" she murmured.

Suddenly, Gaara's sand shifted. It rose around him before rolling toward Lee. She could see Lee trying to crawl away, but the sand wrapped itself around his arm and leg. The sand increased its pressure around his limbs before Gaara's hand clenched into a fist. Sakura's stomach flipped. That only meant one thing.

The sand crushed Lee's limbs.

He cried out in pain.

Sakura's hands flew to her head. Her fingers clawed at her scalp. The day she left…

"_LET GO OF HER!"_

She winced. No! She didn't want to remember, not now! It hurt, it hurt her so much and this was the _last_ place she needed to show this much fucking_weakness_.

The sand was rising again. Sakura's eyes widened. No…Lee couldn't move. He couldn't run. He was going to die.

Gaara was going to kill him.

Her hands tightened into fists. No. _No. _She was tired of Gaara hurting people because of her. Temari had been afraid to touch her, and Kankuro still was. Naruto was all alone again. Sasuke felt betrayed.

She would not let him touch Lee.

Before she knew what she was doing, she had grabbed hold of the rail and jumped over the balcony.

* * *

How dare he…

How _dare_ he!

How _dare_ he touch him.

How _dare_ he threaten to take Sakura as his own!

"_Once I defeat you, I shall protect Sakura from evils such as yourself! You shall never harm a youthful hair on her head again!"_

As if his rage couldn't grow further, he had touched him. He had _hit_ him. _No one_ hit him. Sakura had slapped him once and she had suffered. He would be damned if he let this boy live after _hurting_ him.

A malicious smirk crawled onto his face as he saw the boy trying to crawl away. His sand crawled in follow, wrapping itself around the boy's arm and leg. He slowly raised his hand and abruptly tightened it into a fist.

_Crack_

The feeling of bones cracking pulsed through his sand. Adrenaline rushed through his body, and he began to tremble with excitement. _Yes…__**Yes!**_ a dark voice echoed through his mind. He pulled his sand back, forming it into a wave, fully intending to crush the boy underneath. All at once, his sand rushed forward to destroy him once and for all.

_Crash_

The spots where his eyebrows would have been clenched together. His sand was attacking something in the way. He growled in annoyance as his sand swirled around, trying to push the blockage out of the way.

A softy cry of pain and a flash of pink sent a jolt through his body. His eyes widened. '_No…'_

His sand stopped its assault, and he stared in horror at what he saw.

Sakura had her arms crossed in front of her face for protection. Her legs were bent to keep herself from being knocked over. Her bandages had been ripped apart and the wounds on her arms re-opened. Blood dripped from her elbows onto the floor, pooling near her feet.

She lowered her arms, revealing her face. Her cheeks had been cut as well, but somehow it didn't send the usual waves of pleasure through his system. He was more fixated on her eyes. There was no fear, no respect no acknowledgement of his power over her.

He saw exhaustion.

He saw determination.

He saw…

his eyes narrowed…

complete and utter_loathing_.

As he pushed himself up, he saw Sakura tense, and as he slowly made his way toward her, he saw a flash of fear in her eyes. He saw her gulp and bite her lip as he came closer and closer.

He stood in front of her, able to feel the fear radiating off of her now. He could see her eyes widening as they dashed all over his face. The cracks in his armor, though they'd started to repair themselves, were still there. He frowned. She was afraid. She wasn't apologizing, or crying, or begging for forgiveness. She-

"_GAARA!_"

He growled, his gaze turning to the owner of the voice. To his annoyance, the blond was screaming at her again. His eyes glared into him with hatred he hadn't felt in quite a while. "If you touch her…" he growled.

Gaara smirked.

_Smack_

Sakura's face whipped to the side. Blood dribbled from the corner of her mouth. She didn't move, or gasp in pain, or flinch or back down. She dropped her arms, but remained standing in front of Lee. She heard the Jounin jump from the balcony, but made no move to go near them.

"Learn your place," Gaara growled. A half-smirk curved onto Sakura's face, though she still didn't look at him.

"I have," she whispered, her voice slightly raspy as if she was struggling not to cough. "It's here…between you and Lee."

_Slap_

Sakura's face whipped to the other side. She heard Naruto yelling at Gaara in the distance, but it was the last thing on her mind. "I won't let you touch him," she whispered.

Behind her, Gai had jumped down and gathered his student into his arms. Gaara's eyes narrowed. His chance to kill the boy was destroyed. His being craved blood, and he couldn't fill that craving. With lightning fast speed, his sand wrapped around her neck. Her eyes widened as he squeezed the air from her throat and liften her from the ground.

"I should kill you," he murmured, more to himself than her, as she squirmed for air. Sakura clawed at the sand and kicked her feet, trying to fill her lungs with air once again. As she struggled for freedom, her lips formed words slowly, like even the small task was a challenge.

Gaara caught them.

The sand tightened.

And then it flung her across the room.

She soared across the arena at a deadly speed. If she were to crash into the wall, it was almost certain that her neck would crack.

_Oomph_

It was definitely softer than the wall, but she hit something hard. Strong arms wrapped around her to brace her as she came to a halt. It took a moment for her to realize that she could breath again, and air rushed back into her lungs fast enough to make her light-headed. She collapsed against the figure's chest, leaning her head back to see the figure's face. All she saw from her angle was a mask.

'_Kakashi-sensei…'_

She turned her gaze back to Gaara, and was startled by the anger in his eyes. She could practically see the words 'drop her' on his lips, and was surprised he wasn't growling them at Kakashi. The sand shifted and Kakashi stood with Sakura in his arms, prepared to protect her. Gaara's hands clenched into fists. She felt a sharp pain in her forehead, causing a gasp to escape her lips and a hand to fly to her mark. She could feel the blood begin to warm the bandages, and she began to feel sick again. It was all too much for her body to handle in its current state.

"Ahem…"

All attention turned to Hayate, who cleared his throat before continuing. "The winner…is Gaara."

There were cries of protest – Naruto's the loudest – after Hayate's announcement. Hayate's mouth opened to continue, but he was interrupted. Anko jumped down next to him and opened _her_ mouth. "Alright, the Hokage has an announcement regarding the previous match! Listen up!"

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed as the Hokage stepped forward. The old man cleared his throat before he straightened up, his hands behind his back.

"Due to the violations of our treaty with Suna, and the constant harassment and abuse toward one of my citizens…"

Sakura couldn't breathe again.

"Number 23, Gaara, is disqualified from the Chuunin Exams."

* * *

OH SNAP!!! XD First I kill Temari, then I disqualify Gaara? I'm so gonna get it when it comes around…

In case anyone wants details on my life: one of my guy-friends said he doesn't wanna hang out with me and my other friend anymore, my previous friend (not really anymore) who I used to like (but not much anymore) is going out with his ex-girlfriend (we're childhood friends, parents are friends, so I automatically know this (sweatdrop), I got asked out by my friend whom I thought was gay but apparently isn't, and I'm gonna say no...

God, I hate 99 percent of men. Dear Jashin, Jenova, FSM, and ever Volcan god in existence, I'd better be gay, kuz if I'm not I'm just screwed, man...

Review, please! 


	14. Post Preliminaries

…I am soooooooo going to get shot…

Hehehe…hey, everyone…how's it going?

Well, here's my little explaination…my excuses are school and Kishimoto. School for obvious reasons, and Kishimoto for STABBING my muse into a bloody pulp (I mean, have you READ the most recent chapters? HE THREW A RHINO!!!)

Well, after almost a year, thank you for not leaving me, you guys! :D

**Disclaimer:** If Naruto were mine, the Rhino mentioned earlier wouldn't have existed, and the series would make MORE FREAKING SENSE.

(P.S. I attended Setsucon again this year! I cosplayed as Sai, so if you were there, let me know!)

* * *

That beeping sound was going to drive her insane.

That was the only thing that registered in her mind at that moment. She was lying on something soft, she knew, but her eyes remained shut, keeping her from determining her location.

Everything that touched the softness was warm, but her face, left bare, was freezing. She sluggishly brought her hand to her face, placing the back of her palm against her cheek. She winced. It felt like ice. She let out a deep breath, temporarily warming her lips, and pushed herself into a sitting position. Why did her body feel so _heavy_?

All of a sudden, she felt a hand press down on her shoulder, trying to push her back. She jumped in surprise, and heard the annoying beeping speed up. Oh god, what was going _on_!?! Instinctively, she grabbed the wrist and struggled against the pressure. She heard someone speak, but it echoed in her head too many times to comprehend. Another pressure was pushed against her other shoulder, and she groaned out of her exhaustion and frustration.

The voice came back a bit clearer than before, but still hard to identify. A different voice was added on, and she could hear it say her name. The beeping sped up as she panicked more, still half asleep and completely confused.

"_Sakura!"_

She froze, the voice now crystal clear in her ears. The voice that had always stayed calm, even in the heat of battle.

"…Kakashi-sensei?"

Why was the voice panicking?

"Haruno-san, you need to calm down," the second voice chided, though there was a firm annoyance within it. "if your heart rate becomes any faster, the nurses will force us to leave."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. Nurses? Heartrate? Was…she in a hospital?

Slowly, she cracked open her eyes, only to squint at the bright light illuminating the room. Everything around her was white, reflecting the light and blinding her further. With a groan, she squeezed her eyes shut before attempting to open them again. After blinking a few dozen times, she felt her eyesight adjust and it no longer hurt her to blink.

She found herself staring into a single onyx eye.

Immediately she relaxed, seeing the single eye of her sensei. "S-Sorry," she whispered, her face flushed with embarrassment. Kakashi didn't reply, only assisting her in sitting fully up and positioning her pillow to lie against. Sakura was still groggy, only allowing her sensei to move her body.

"How did I-"

"You passed out at the exams. Not that I could blame you. A lot happened in such a short period of time."

She felt another pair of hands help her as well, and glanced to her left to see who else was assisting her. Her eyes widened when they met with the infamous white orbs of the Hyuuga clan. "N-Neji-san!?!"

He didn't exactly look concerned, like her sensei. More, he looked annoyed, as if he couldn't believe he was actually wasting his precious time here. Her eyebrows furrowed again, completely confused as he carefully set her against the pillow. "Yes, Haruno-san?" he grunted without a trace of respect in his voice. Sakura flinched, too tired to keep from doing so.

"Nothing," she softly replied, "I just…why…"

Neji raised a brow. "What is it?" he spat.

Sakura didn't answer right away; she just bit her lip as her eyes flinched across Neji's face. She didn't know him…she had only spoken to him once before.

"_I wouldn't let that Uchiha _breathe_ on me, let alone ride on my back."_

Neji wasn't the type to care about anyone but himself. Of all places, why was he _here_? Shouldn't he be with Lee? She knew his teammate _had_ to be in the hospital…

"Tenten is staying with Lee," Neji's voice sliced through her musing, causing her to jump in surprise. "We agreed that I should stay here until you woke up, so that we could learn what was going on."

Sakura had absolute shock on her face. How had he –

"You were mumbling."

Her face lit up like a lantern, her embarrassment painfully obvious. "O-Oh," she stuttered, rolling over what he'd actually said to her in her head. "…Wait, you want to know what?"

His eyes narrowed. "Haruno, you appeared at the preliminaries with your arms covered in _thousands_ of scabs. Those scabs could only be caused by one person, and judging by the way you just bit your lip-" Sakura immediately released the skin from between her teeth, "-you know who I'm speaking of." He crossed his arms. "We learned soon after that the same person was _violating our treaty-"_

"_Neji,_" Kakashi warned.

"Sorry," he grunted, eyes flashing to the Jounin before returning to Sakura. "Something is going on, and you seem to be in the middle of it. That is why we are all here."

Sakura nodded dumbly as all of the words sank in…-

Wait, _'all'_ here?

Sakura's eyes widened, her head whipping around the room. She felt a pang of surprise hit her stomach when she saw that the room was _crammed_ with her fellow ninja. She was surprised that the room wasn't stuffy from the amount of people there.

Kiba was sitting in the corner with Akamaru snuggling into his lap. Shino was leaning against the wall, as far from the windows as possible. Chouji had managed to fall asleep with a chip half-hanging out of his mouth, and Shikamaru had taken the chair in the corner of the room, snoozing like he would any other day. Even Kankuro had secured a spot against the wall, though it was a considerable distance away from everyone else.

And Naruto, as faithful as ever, was asleep in a chair right next to her bed. She smiled a bit when she saw that. Naruto still loved her, as a friend, as a teammate. She'd thought he would be mad with how much she was ignoring him, how mean she'd been to Sasuke, how much she had separated herself from the team…

"Oi, Naruto," Kakashi called, "Sakura's awake."

Naruto groaned softly, squeezing his eyes together in protest. After a moment, his eyes slowly cracked open, his usual clear orbs foggy with fatigue. He clenched his eyes shut again as he let out a long, loud yawn, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Morning, Sakura-chan…"

A moment later, his words registered in his mind and his eyes snapped open. "_SAKURA-CHAN!_" he screamed, and Sakura screamed in surprise as well. Neji's shoulders stiffened as his eardrums took the abusingly loud noise. To his dismay, it didn't stop there.

Their shrieking had woken up Akamaru, who yipped and jumped onto Kiba's head. Kiba woke up with a start, and his arms flailed and hit Chouji, who was jolted awake and flung the bag of chips out of his hand, which hit Kankuro on the head, thus waking _him_ up. He cried out in surprise, jumping up to defend himself from a possible threat.

It took another moment for everyone to stop screaming, and an awkward silence settled among them. They glanced at one another, mildly embarrassed at their reaction and how easily they'd been startled. Slowly, Neji let his shoulders relax, though the rest of his body was still stiff with aggravation. "You all," he hissed, "are the poorest excuses for ninja I've ever seen."

"_Honestly,"_ he huffed afterward.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto's defense kicked in, and he spat back at the Hyuuga. "Say that again, you pompous-"

"_Naruto!_" Sakura scolded.

"But Sakura-_chaaaaaan…_"

"That's enough, Naruto," Kakashi chided, placing a hand onto his head. The blond groaned, crossing his arms to let his immaturity show. Kakashi turned his attention to Sakura, his eyes no longer playful or amused. "Now, we've all gathered here for one purpose, and now that we're all _awake,_ I suggest we get on with it. Most of you have to prepare for the second part of the exam, and if you don't start now, you'll be left behind."

"Keh," Kiba muttered, folding his arms almost as if to pout.

Kakashi spared him a glance before turning back to Sakura. She gulped, nervous under the intense gaze of her sensei. "Where should I start?" she whispered, her voice shaking. She almost couldn't believe she'd asked that. She'd spent the past six years keeping her life from people – her friends, her village, her sensei…To so willingly tell people…it…almost _scared_ her.

"The beginning is always a good place," Kakashi suggested.

Sakura bit her lip, but nodded. "When I was training a few weeks ago-"

"No."

Sakura's eyes widened as Kakashi's voice cut through hers. He placed his hand on her shoulder, his single black eye burning into her. "I know for a fact that Gaara has been harassing you for much longer than a few weeks, Sakura," he said sternly.

"I need you to start at the _beginning_."

Sakura stared. How…how had he…known her past, enough to correct her story? After a moment, she looked around the room. She saw six pairs of eyes drilling into her, anxious to hear her speak. It only added to the dread in the pit of her stomach, and she felt sick, almost clammy.

She felt a warm hand grasp hers, and turned her head to see Kankuro had moved to the side of her bed, sending her distress and immediately coming to her aid. His face was in a normal, serious expression, trying to reassure her. She felt a small smile creep into her face, squeezing his hand in thanks.

"When I was six…my parents brought me to Suna…"

* * *

Beep…

Beep…

Beep…

_What was that sound?_

_It was so annoying…the sound was fuzzy, but the option of crushing it with a blunt object was very appealing…_

_It was very comfortable…like she was floating...What was she doing there, anyway? She felt more peaceful than she had in a long time…She almost found herself drifting back into a lulling sleep…_

_A sharp pain hit her and rippled through her body, leaving her finger tips tingling and sensitive. She couldn't work up the energy to cry out, but she managed a painful gasp. What was going on? She panicked as more pain washed over her and as the beeping sped up in the background. She squirmed, trying to get away from the pain and the sound and everything her mind was too cloudy to recognize. _

_Above all of the chaos, she heard voices begin gurgling up. She could hear their panicked cries as hands grabbed at her and moved her around. A metallic taste gurgled up from her throat as she felt her body shake. Oh, dear God, someone please put her out of this overwhelming misery…_

_Something latched onto her face, and she panicked more, flailing her arms to get the threat away. All of a sudden, the air held the sharp scent of chemicals, and she felt her head begin swimming again. Her eyebrows scrunched together as she fought to keep consciousness…_

No…dammit…

* * *

Somehow, the beeping of the monitor was the savior from the tense silence of the room. Akamaru whimpered as Kiba shifted uncomfortably where he stood. Chouji hadn't eaten a chip in the past 5 minutes, and Naruto…had his hands clenched into fists. Shadows covered his eyes. It was all Sakura could do to clench Kankuro's hand tighter.

"Haruno-san…" Neji's eyes were wide, strained from searching for any falter in her story, but he seemed more horrified at her honesty. "Is…is all of this…"

Sakura bit her lip, and – judging by Neji's sharp intake of breath – he caught it.

"That bastard…" Naruto hissed, still not looking up. "How dare he…"

"Naruto-"

"And _you!_" he shouted, pointing a shaking finger at Kankuro. "Why didn't you _do_ anything!?!"

Kankuro faltered, surprised that the Konoha nin had just called him out. Just the words that came out of his mouth made him drop his head in shame, because he knew…that he could never protect Sakura the way she needed to be protected.

"Sakura said you swore your loyalty to her. Why didn't you stop him!?"

"Some loyalty you showed," Kiba muttered, Akamaru growling in addition.

"If you and Temari are so _loyal_, why did you-"

"_Stop it!"_

Everyone jumped as Sakura screamed, and Kankuro winced as her hand tightened its grip on his.

"Sakura-chan-"

She whipped her head toward Naruto, emerald eyes flaring. "Stop. Talking. Naruto," she spat. "Kankuro and Temari did _everything they could _to help me!"

"Then why does that bastard still _hurt you!?!"_

Kakashi's brows furrowed. He had never seen Sakura this angry, and Naruto…he hadn't been like this since their mission in Mist…

…What had happened to his team?

"If they owed their _lives_ to you…" Naruto growled. "…Why didn't they _save_ you?"

…

…

…

"…because Gaara can't be stopped."

Naruto growled. "Dammit, Sakura-"

"You don't get it, Naruto!" Sakura yelled, her voice cracking – whether with tears or fear, no one knew.

Kankuro growled, his eyes turning to glare at the blond. "I've had enough of your mouth, brat."

"What was that!?"

"Your mouth keeps running and running, but you aren't grasping what's going on, and you won't let her explain." Kankuro stood, sending a glare to the rest of the members of the room. "When Gaara was born…a demon was sealed inside of him."

…For the first time in a while, Naruto could say nothing…

"The thing is a blood thirsty monster named Shukaku…when he was little, it didn't have much control, but…" he gripped Sakura's hand a little harder. "When our uncle died…when he tried to kill him…Gaara snapped. All of the demon's bloodlust poured into him, and Gaara himself…"

"Became a monster," Sakura whispered.

A tear dripped down her cheek.

Naruto had still not said a word.

The tense silence when Kakashi snapped his book closed. They weren't entirely sure when he'd pulled it out in the first place. "Alright, children, that's enough excitement for today. You all got your information, now Sakura needs to rest."

The nins glanced awkwardly at each other before nodding. With half-hearted mutters of 'feel better' and other wishes, the members of the Rookie 9 exited one by one. Naruto left without a word.

Neji stopped in the doorframe, holding it with one hand. "…Haruno-san."

Sakura's head shot up. "Y-Yes?"

"…I have seen the way you fight…the ferocity you hold in battle…While there is no doubt in my mind that you will _never_ be one of the elite…" He glanced over his shoulder, pearl white eyes burning into hers, "…I believe you are destined for greater things than being that sand filth's play toy…"

Sakura's brows raised. Had Neji just…

"I dislike when fate is lead off course…Things are meant to be a certain way, and this is not the path that destiny has laid out for you…I will do all I can in my power to return fate to its proper course."

"Neji-san…" Sakura whispered in shock.

With a snort at her stunned state, he exited the room.

"You, too, Face Paint."

Kankuro's brows rose in surprise and he turned to Kakashi. The Jounin had stood, hands in pockets in his normal lazy stance, but his gaze held a power and command that made Kankuro think twice about disobeying. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered, standing up as well. He turned to Sakura, his gaze softening, and he squeezed her hand one last time. "Till later, Sakura-sama."

She smiled. "Ja ne, Kankuro-san."

The door clicked shut, mutters of _'I'll show you filth…'_ following him out, and Sakura let out a sigh of relief, leaning back on her pillows. She thought all of their stares would cause her to explode…while the nervous blush had gone down, the weight on her heart was still heavy.

How…would everyone react? Sympathy, pity…disgust?

She felt a weight press down on the bed, and turned back to her sensei. The nervous blush returned as he set his serious gaze upon her. "Sakura," he started, his voice still void of his usual playfulness. She gulped, suddenly unable to meet his gaze. She heard him sigh.

"Sakura, why didn't you tell anyone?"

Kakashi only observed as she bit her lip. He already knew the answer…he'd already assessed the situation by the end of her tale. But he wanted to hear her tell him…wanted to be sure she knew the situation she was in….

"Sakura." Her shoulders visibly hunched as if to hide herself from him. "Sakura, _look. At. Me." _He ordered.

Slowly, she turned her head to face him, her lip still locked between her teeth. Her eyes had begun to glaze over with tears, but Kakashi refused to leave her until she said it.

"Why didn't you _tell_ anyone?"

…

…

…

"…I thought…he would…hurt you…"

She gulped, keeping her emotions from spilling out in front of her sensei. "I-I thought…that if people knew, if you and Naruto and - " she winced, "_Sasuke_ knew…you would try and stop him…and I-I can't watch anyone else be hurt by him and know that it's my fault, that I – " she choked on her next words.

"…Sakura."

She could honestly say that she was surprised when Kakashi slid his hand into hers. She stared into his single eye in surprise.

She could see some determination behind his eyes as he spoke. "Six years ago…the Hokage gave me a mission; to rescue Haruno Sakura from the hands of Sand."

"_Hang on. Don't let go."_

Her eyes widened. Her sensei…her sensei was the ANBU that rescued her?

"When we returned you here, I thought my mission was over," he continued. His grip on her hand tightened. "But Haruno Sakura is still in the clutches of Sand now." With a tug, Sakura found herself being crushed against her sensei's chest, and she froze in confusion. "Sakura…I will do everything in my power to complete my mission."

Those few words…

They spelled out something that caused her eyes to flood with tears.

_I will protect you._

She wrapped her arms around her sensei.

She buried her face in his chest.

And she cried.

She sobbed.

She _wailed_ as she clung to her sensei, letting all of her emotions from the past few weeks pour out.

'_Thank you, sensei…_' she thought as she choked on her sobs. Kakashi ran a soothing hand down her back as she continued to cry.

_Thank you…

* * *

_  
The moon hung high in the sky, casting a bright light onto the city below.

Oh, how this moon brought his blood to boil…

Gaara took a deep breath of the crisp night air as he looked out at the village aglow in the moonlight.

The demon inside of him _lived_ for these nights

His head pounded as the demon stretched its claws, and he shuddered as it crouched, ready for its prey. He felt it pulse, sharpening his senses to catch the sweet scent of blood floating in the air, and he rolled his shoulders back to distract himself, to keep himself from beginning the hunt.

That stupid girl…that stupid _bitch_, how _dare_ she do that to him, go against him like that. Her place was by his side, NOT in the hands of that Konoha _filth_. He gritted his teeth at the memory of her held in that man's arms, protecting that pathetic excuse for a ninja…and kissing…kissing that…

He cried out in pain and clenched the cloth above his heart as images flooded through his mind. Images of violet chakra, of the blood, of that _damn_ Uchiha daring to touch what was _his…_

A growl formed in the back of his throat, and his sand shifted restlessly inside of his gourd. He needed blood, ne needed _her_ blood splattered on his hands, dripping from her hair, he needed to spill _her __**blood…**_

"This was unexpected…"

…Then again…

Gaara focused on the figure below him, the clinking of the chimes somehow adding to the heavy tension of the rooftop. The sound nin mockingly tilted his head to the side.

"Do you not sleep?"

…Any filthy blood would do for now…

The wind picked up, thrashing the chimes from side to side.

No one even heard him scream.


	15. DISCONTINUED

Thank you to everyone who has read, watched, faved and reviewed my story. It's because of so much support that I enjoyed writing it as much as I did. I never once imagined that something _I_ had written could have been so popular or so enjoyed.

However, I must regret to inform you that I have decided to discontinue Desert Flower.

It was a hard choice that I made months ago, but I don't want to leave everyone hanging. It's not simply that I'm lazy and have chosen to give up this story. I had a vague story line sketched out, which involved multiple confrontations between Sakura and Gaara, where eventually Gaara would realize he was wrong and didn't understand the concept of love at all. It sounds a little cliché without all of the detail. Eventually, Gaara would have (a bit forcefully, I won't lie, but not violently) Sakura train with him to help her do well in the next round of the chuunin exams, so that she could 'fight for him', in a more symbolic and less creepy way than he'd previously make her. Over that month, it would be a little strained, but they would eventually fall into place with one another.

In the meantime, Temari would have survived, and Sasuke would have made her tell him everything, and he would have confronted Sakura and told her that he would protect her at all costs.

The next round would roll around, and low and behold, Sakura would have to fight Sasuke, but before they could get more than a few moves in, the signal would be given and the Sand invasion would start. After that, pretty much all of the canon Invasion of Konoha events would take place, until the end where Gaara would force his siblings to take him back to Sakura after Naruto's speech gives him a change of outlook, and he sincerely apologizes for all he is done to her. Sakura forgives him, seeing the state that he's in, and kisses him.

Months later, during the Rescue Sasuke arc, Sakura would be fighting Kimimaro, and Gaara would save her, their eyes would meet, and the story would end then and there.

You see, this is what I _planned_. However, I will not be writing it out. I felt that because you've all stuck by me for the three years I actively wrote this, you at least deserved to hear how it would play out. And now I guess you deserve an explanation as to why I stopped writing it.

First of all, I dislike this story. I really do. Once upon a time, I lived for angsty, sadistic fanfics. Nowadays, my interest has been pulled to other places, and I'm really not as interested anymore. It's not the kind of fics I like to write anymore, and rarely the kind of fic I'd like to read. I also feel that the quality of the writing (from grammar and word choice to plotlines and in-character writing) isn't up to my personal standards. I don't feel that I've come _light-years_, but I think I've improved past my 8th grade writing level, which was when this was started and when most of this was written.

Next, I've pretty much left the Naruto fandom. I can't keep up with the plotline to a point where I feel I know it well, and as far as the people _in_ the fandom, I just feel like I don't get along with them as much as I used to. I've moved on to the fandoms of Hetalia and The World Ends With You – a very popular fandom, and a somewhat smaller one XD; - and I will likely not be making a return to the Naruto fandom any time soon, if not for a quick suddenly inspired one-shot.

I hope you've all enjoyed the journey, and I'm sorry I have to bring it to an abrupt end, but I would rather give up on this story than force out chapters of something I didn't enjoy writing. Thank you for the inspiration, everyone, and I hope you find other fics you enjoy.

~Princess of Thieves


End file.
